Ten Years of Difference
by Jeremy
Summary: The sands of time did not allow the Avatar to stop the Second Comet. Now, a decade later, the Avatar awakens to a world where the balance is broken, but where hope has not yet been extinguished.
1. Prologue

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Prologue**

_Destiny is not always heeded… _

* * *

Sokka stared at the hole at the bottom of the boat, and the water seeping in. And then looked up to glare at his sheepish sister. It had been such a fine day to go fishing, and she'd ruined both it and her boat!

It had started out well. Katara had agreed to go with him, but her mind hadn't been on fishing. Rather, it had been on her Waterbending. It had gone to the point where it had irritated him, and he'd done what he'd always done in that case: tease her lack of progress.

She'd gotten angry, of course, and had produced a remarkable jet of water as a result. Unfortunately, that jet of water went through his boat. Which had pretty much resulted in their current predicament.

Katara, her own anger forgotten in her dismay, gave Sokka an uncertain smile.

"Um…sorry?" she mused tentatively, looking down at the hole as well.

"Just…perfect! Perfect!" he shouted, and Katara actually cringed a bit. She knew how long he'd worked on the small boat. He calmed down, however. He had bigger problems to tackle.

"Can you use that Waterbending of yours to make sure the water doesn't sink us too fast?" he asked tensely.

"I…I think so, yeah. Yeah, I can!"

"Then you Bend, I'll paddle like a crazy man to shore!" he said. "I swear, one day that Waterbending's gonna get you or me killed!"

"Hey! You got to admit, that was pretty nice there!" She countered.

"Oh yeah, just great!" he said sarcastically, as he passed an ice mound. Neither looked at it, too preoccupied as they were on paddling or Bending. "And the results? Just incredible! Just like your big Avatar theories! Full of holes!"

"You're just jealous!"

"And you're just…" Their voices faded from the place, their banter glancing off the cold mound, never reaching the incredible secret inside.

* * *

Empty, and cold. That was the World in Aang's mind. He didn't know, and yet he _knew_, that time had passed. Much time. How much? He didn't manage to make himself care, either. He didn't awaken.

The last Master Airbender slumbered in his self-made, icy cocoon.

* * *

_Destiny was waylaid by fate. The slumbering saviour continued to slumber._

* * *

Zuko stared at the woman he'd barely defeated. Panting Yueh, she called herself. He had known that name from his Uncle. The daughter of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribes, that was who she was. She lay unconscious, having fought hard to protect the pool, in which two fish swam eerily.

_The Spirits? Those are what Zhao's after? _He wondered, even as he heard the battle thundering from the walls. Soon, the battle would spill inside the capital, and Zhao would arrive to destroy the source of the Waterbenders' power.

_Do I let him? Do I let him take the girl as well? I am a loyal Firebender, sworn to the Fire Nation. _He thought quickly. _And yet… Uncle said… that it was the wrong thing to do. _

He gritted his teeth, and stepped towards the girl and the pond. He had decided, for good or ill.

* * *

Toph raised the Earth beneath the soldier's feet, forcing them all to scatter, and then sped away by controlling the ground. She grinned, her blind eyes useless, but her senses telling her of the trouble she had just caused. The Fire Nation's column would be stalled for at least a day. Enough for the Earth Army to regroup.

The Comet had come, after over a century. And it had transformed the Fire Nation's advance into a tide. Omashu, Entaz, Gaoling, and so many others had been taken. So many fortresses had fallen. Toph's people were being driven back to Ba Sing Se. Soon, even that mightiest of city-states would be assailed.

But Toph refused to give in. She would never bend the knee to the Fire Nation. She'd fight her own battles, and join forces with those who'd oppose Fire Nation rule. Even if the Earth Kingdom fell, she never would.

_I am the greatest Earthbender in the world, and they'll learn to fear the name Blind Bandit. _She vowed to herself, as she sped away from the enemy and into the wilds.

* * *

Ty Lee had looked as Iroh, the Dragon of the West, and the greatest Firebender of his time, had given his last breath. The old man had died as he'd lived – fully accepting his fate. But not before he had told his gloating niece something.

"Your ambitions will destroy you before they destroy the world. Remember that, Azula. There's always a price to be paid."

Zuko had entered, and had pushed them back in his fury, taking the body away. Ty Lee had found herself happy to see that. For some reason, that had felt right.

_What am I doing here? _She wondered as she looked down from her balcony in what had once been the Earth King's Palace. _Cheerfulness is hard to maintain, and I'm starting to feel like Azula won't stop until she'd destroyed every life around her. _

* * *

Sokka wept as he stared at the raft on which his father's body was being carried. Hakoda had been a great man, and the Resistance had done him a magnificent funeral, following the Southern Water Tribe rituals.

_Six years fighting with you. _He thought, as the pain sought to overwhelm him. _I left Katara back home to find you. To have your approval. Did I get it? I got it, didn't I? _His father had said so, and he had to believe it.

He looked around. There was Zuko, looking at the barge with wistful sadness. There was Bumi, the elderly Earthbender looking sombre, his jovial face forgotten today. There was even Toph, who saw without seeing, and who had touched his shoulder in sympathy.

Of Suki, there was no sign. _Still with Jet. Even now._

His father's group wanted Sokka to lead them. They said he could. Zuko said he could. Bumi encouraged him. Even Toph acquiesced to the idea. He might take his father's mantle, if they trusted him to do a good job. He would fight the new Fire Empire as Hakoda had done.

And he'd _never _forget that Suki, the woman he loved, was absent when his heart threatened to sunder forever. With that, Sokka broke down, barely feeling Zuko and Toph as they gently pulled him away from his father's drifting body.

* * *

_And so, ten years passed from that fateful moment until, once again, a decade later, destiny called once more…_


	2. Chapter One

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter One**

_A decade after Destiny was denied… _

* * *

There were only about twenty of them, the raid leader saw. Even in the torchlight, it was easy to make out. The caravans – five of them – had been put in a circle. Only one tent stood out – that of the commanding officer, certainly. The others were sleeping in rough cots and blankets, armour and weapons at hand.

The fires were beginning to die down, but not the braziers at the edge of the camp. These were maintained by soldiers who kept watch, circling the caravan in groups of two. Six of them were awake. Shifts of two to three hours each.

Typical Imperial arrangement. Sokka nodded in the gloom of the surrounding forest, smiling grimly. The information had been correct, it seemed.

The first shift, he had let pass patiently. There was no point in rushing. His father had always told him that patience was its own reward, that to win a raid was to wait for the right moment. Now, one third was in a tired sleep, the second third was thinking nothing of sleep, the last in a deep sleep.

_Now, _he thought, and whistled.

The soldiers barely had time to react. One moment, they were lazily gazing about. The next, arrows zipped towards them, eliciting cries of pain and surprise. Two of them never had time to say anything. One received a well-placed arrow to the head, killing him instantly. The other took one to the throat, and fell, coughing blood in his death throes.

"Alert! We're under attack!" The remaining ones cried, and one more fell to arrows. The others stirred, while the others crouched, trying to keep away from the glare of the fire.

Sokka whistled a second time, and three men stepped out of the wood, barefooted. They stamped their feet, and the ground shook, the ground erupting in pandemonium in the midst of the sleepy soldiers, scattering them.

Some fell on the embers of the fires, and screamed in pain, rolling about to put out any spark. Others stood in confusion, sleep muddying their thoughts. Their commander stumbled out of the tent, trying to strap on his armour.

A third whistle, and Sokka took out the curved blades which only his people knew to make. In a moment, he was charging, right into the confusion, while others followed behind him.

Overtaking him was a woman with archaic clothing and a painted face, who began making short work of the soldiers, while a man in leather armour and a heavy helmet struck down one soldier, then another with his speed.

This had been done within thirty seconds. It was looking to be a flawless raid, especially since there were no Firebenders in sight.

_Perfect, _he thought fiercely, as his blades met the sword of a determined, but panicked Fire Empire soldier. _Simply perfect!_

Sokka's sense of timing and dexterity had improved through hard work and many similar raids. He easily dodged the blow meant for him, and smashed his weapon right at the side of the soldier's blade, knocking it off, and turning even as he did so. With his other hand, on the second stroke, he struck the man's helmet at full force, denting the helm itself, and the young man stumbled.

A well-placed knee to the gut and a quick hit on the back of the neck finished this enemy. Quickly, Sokka analyzed the battlefield, and saw that his help wasn't quite needed. His fan-wielding companion had already laid four soldiers low, while two were at the feet of the spear-wielding man.

Still more had fallen under the assault of the Earthbenders, and only half a dozen remained, desperately holding off the assaults mounted against them. Sokka briefly considered finishing them off, but decided against it. This was a raid, not a butchery. He wouldn't begin to thread the ground of the Fire Empire's forces.

"You're beaten and surrounded!" he called, and the battle stalled, only the moans of the wounded and the noises of the forest breaking the sudden silence. "Surrender, and I promise you that you'll be spared.

"Sokka, Jet said - !" The young man with the spear interjected. Sokka gave him a cold, final look. _Jet again_. he thought with venom in his heart. _Jet and his insane, selfish acts of private vengeance._

"This is my operation. My command." He reminded the younger man slowly. "I decide what happens. Is that understood, Duke?"

The Duke, who had been one of Jet's Freedom Fighters – and, as far as Sokka was concerned, was guilty of aiding in killing several hundred innocents, seemed ready to open his mouth and protest. However, the fan-wielding girl gave him a look, and he only nodded sullenly. _She just saved your life, idiot, _he thought.

He gave the soldiers a look, and then gazed into the eyes of the commander. He was older than the others, and sported the goatee and wore – partly at least – the trappings of an officer. That officer stared at Sokka hard, as if gauging him, as all waited.

"I don't give mercy on a whim. When I give my word, I keep it." he promised. "Surrender now, and you will be spared. " He sighed as they hesitated.

"Fight, and I'll kill you all here and now."

* * *

When Zuko walked as the Blue Spirit, he could walk unseen. When he moved about, even the best of thieves and assassins would be hard-pressed to locate him. He had, by necessity and will, developed such gifts of stealth. If he had wanted, he could gone in and out of the tavern without anyone being the wiser.

But Zuko had no wish for it. Today he wanted to be seen. Today, stealth wasn't what he wished for. Today – or, rather, tonight – was for the warrior that many a tutor, a beloved uncle and years of suffering had formed. That was the Zuko which slid the door open.

Eyes spotted him as he entered. Bleary eyes, sharp eyes, curious eyes, cunning eyes, drunken eyes and more. A small part of the tavern looked at him, but those that did noticed. And then the eyes looked away.

Zuko had grown tall and fit, but nothing that should inspire fear. His garb, travel-stained and greyed by the road and the dust, was nothing remarkable, either. He was, in many ways, just a simple traveller.

Only he wasn't, and the men felt it. They saw it in the baleful eye staring out of the burnt half of his face – a gift from a man he no longer acknowledged as blood. They saw it in the movements of his steps, each of them a threat, each of them a danger.

Most of all, they saw it in the way his hand rested on the hilt of his dual swords. Nicked and stained the blades might be, but their exceptional make and his calloused, practiced hand told of his might. And he had another power to draw upon, if need be. But he didn't feel he would need it, not tonight.

So the men noticed silently, and the way opened silently, until he stood at the tavern's counter, where different types of beverages – from the Fire Nation's Dragonbreath to the Earth Kingdom's famed Bloodshine. The man at the counter, dressed well enough but sporting the same rough look as anyone else here, simply gauged an instant then went back to work.

"I'm looking for a man." He asked at once. The man at the counter only stared at him, and Zuko deftly flung a silver piece on the counter. "A glass of Bloodshine."

It was before him in a moment. Without missing a beat, knowing some eyes still looked without meaning it, Zuko ignored the conversations, the noises, the smell, picked up his drink, and drunk it straight down. Like acid, the potent liquor burned, but he ignored it as he might ignore any other sort of pain. He gave the man a stare and simply stated "I'm looking for a man named Kentharo. I know he always comes here. Give me another Bloodshine, and tell me where he is."

_Patience, not anger, is always the better way to gain quick results. _He heard his Uncle Iroh's voice in his head, clear as if the man was beside him. His Uncle, who was nothing less than a father in his heart. His Uncle who he missed so much. His adage held true, as he was pointed to his target.

He walked there, through the din of conversations, and sat before a burly man who, judging from his looks and manner, had taken quite a few glasses of potent liquor. Although his speech wasn't slurred at all, he was hesitant in his movements, and his hands trembled slightly. He also seemed half-asleep, waking when Zuko sat in front of him.

"Hey, I wanna be left alone." He warned, clearly not liking the fact he was no longer alone at his table. Burly, but in a muscular way, and far taller than Zuko, he seemed used to scaring away unwanted people by imposing himself physically on others.

"Soon enough. I want information." He said. The man seemed taken aback at his level tone.

"Lissen, I've nothing to tell you." He hissed, "Certainly not to a damned man from the Fire Isles." His ire wasn't unusual, and his repartee poor. Zuko was unimpressed.

"It's about a woman named Bei Fong Toph." The one who had once been Crown Prince of the most powerful nation in the world said simply.

"Bei Fong? The southern merchant princes from Gaoling? Nothing to say about them, not like I mix with that rich lot." The man huffed, but there had been something. Something in his eyes, some hesitation in his body language. Zuko noted it easily.

"And yet, I heard that someone resembling her met you, from sources I find trustworthy enough." He mused. _If Sokka's sources were right, of course. But, in this case, I think they are. This guy's being tough, but he's starting to reek of fear…_

"Now you listen. I don't know any Toph or whatever. I've hauled lots of cargo today, Islander, and I'm tired. Now, are you with the Imperial Watch?" The man said, his agitation climbing quickly.

"No." There was no way Zuko would ever take part in something his family had a hand in. The only man in his family worth following had, after all, sadly passed away because of its surviving members.

"Then get out of my face, Islander." The man growled, slapping some money on the table and leaving, wobbling slightly, through the crowd. Zuko watched him go, then looked at his second glass of Bloodshine.

"Kentharo, you don't lie well." He said, and his eyes became unpleasant. "I really hate lies."

And he drained his second glass in one swallow.

* * *

"What do we got, Liwon?" Sokka asked the young man in charge of take count of the goods. Of all of his people, the young Earthbender, a lanky, average-looking youth with somewhat spiky hair, was the fastest in doing the task. It was no wonder, as he had been born in a family of Earth Kingdom accountants.

"Corn, rice, rye, mainly. Enough food to last five hundred men two weeks, if they're careful." The young man said, scratching stubble which wouldn't yet become a beard. "And medical supplies, too." He was rather happy with that. Sokka nodded for him to continue. "Not many weapons. This was a supply run."

Sokka nodded and turned his attention back to the caravans themselves. Already, he was thinking on how he'd get them and their cargo to a safe point, he considered where the goods would be distributed, and where the empty husks would be left to avoid danger.

Things he'd learned from his father, and which he'd learned to do when he had died. _I wish you'd be here, Dad. _He thought in regret. Then, another regret came unbidden. _I wish Katara was here with me right now._

He grimaced and shook his head, his mane of brown hair swishing with his movements. There was no point in regrets. Not right now. Not when people depended on his decisions. He almost missed the fact that someone came close to him as a result.

"Nicely done, Sokka." Came a voice which still haunted his dreams at night. He turned his head to see deep, blue eyes in the midst of fierce war painting. She seemed a bit awkward, and Sokka felt both longing and indecision grip him.

But another feeling also took hold, one he had grown accustomed to when it came to her: Bitterness. His eyes narrowed a bit as he stared at her. He was angered when her eyes seemed to suddenly convey disappointment. _I'm not the one who left._ He thought bitterly.

"Yeah. Thanks. This really should get the Fire Na… I mean, the Empire mad. I'm betting their gonna flood this area with soldiers."

"And that'll leave the nearby forts terribly undermanned." She said, and her smile almost broke through the bitter shell he'd wrought around him. There was a time when that smile shone only for him. No more now.

"Yup. The biggest operation we've had for the last three years." _Ever since Dad died, _his mind reminded him. He realized what he was starting to feel, starting to do. She was so damned close, and he was feeling so damned… he looked away in discomfort.

"Sokka…" she began, and there was something in her voice he hadn't heard in a long time. He turned back to look on her troubled face, and then he heard a voice, shrill with both terror and anger, ring out.

"You bastards! His Majesty, Firelord Ozai'll wipe you filth out some day!"

The Fire Soldiers who'd survived had been treated for major wounds once their leader had ordered their surrender, then had been tied to trees, all while Sokka ordered the dead wrapped in their blankets and lain nearby.

He had forbidden looting the corpses, as always. Enemy or not, the dead always deserved respect, something both his father and mother had been keen on. Hakoda's rules were still law in Sokka's group.

But another rule which Hakoda had maintained had been that prisoners, once surrendered, could never be harmed. Sokka had seen the wisdom in that, too. It separated them from beasts and killers.

But he saw the Duke in front of the foolish man, and saw the other four who stood nearby. Jet's people. People who couldn't care less about what his father thought or said. Duke's voice cracked like a whip, sneering, condescending, lethal. Sokka began to walk towards the sound of the altercation.

"You Fire Nation always open your mouths when you shouldn't, you know?" The Duke said and, with a swift movement, he brought his spear down from his shoulder and drove it through the bound soldier's throat. The man gasped, gurgled, and then went into spasm, even as the Duke watched.

"You filthy monsters!" one of the other soldiers shouted. "He was just a damned kid who didn't know anything! Murderer!"

"So, more stupidity from people who should just shut up. I guess I'll just…"

"Duke, you monstrous little bastard!" Sokka growled, finally reaching the group. Normally not someone of remarkable strength, his rage and dismay empowered him, and he lifted the younger man clear off the ground. "I gave an order not to touch the prisoners!"

The Duke's smile was full of arrogance and, for a moment, Sokka thought he was looking at Jet himself. _Trained him well, didn't you? Eh, Jet?_

"Me, Suki and these guys…" Duke said with a smirk, "We don't have to obey your stupid lil' rules. They're Fire Nation, and they'll die if I want them to. If you gotta problem with how Jet does thing…"

He didn't go any further. Dropping him to his feet, Sokka swung his fist with every fibre of anger and horror he felt, and cracked a shot across the other man's Jaw. Teeth and blood spurted, and the Duke swayed, only to receive a second crack from the other side. So hard did Sokka strike, he felt like his hands had broken, and gritted his teeth against the pain.

Suki stayed where she was, looking at the body in what Sokka hoped was disgust, but the other three of Jet's members mad an angry move towards him. Moves which stopped as sounds erupted around them. Sounds of rocks being parted from the ground, and of bows being readied.

Twelve archers and Earthbenders surrounded the knocked out Duke, Suki and the other three of Jet's acolytes. Sokka didn't give them a chance to speak.

"Get your things, and got tell that crazed leader of yours," Sokka hissed, gritted teeth acting like a gate, barring his trembling rage, "That I'll never work with the likes of you again. My men are freedom fighters. You're just misguided killers. Now go, or I'll hang the lot of you here and now!"

"Sokka, I'd never…" Suki began, but he growled over her protest.

"You chose his rotten way, now follow it! OUT!" he shouted, and refused to look at them even as they took hold of the Duke and left. They did so quickly, which probably saved them. _I might have hanged them, even HER, for this, if they'd stayed._

He sighed when they were gone, and spied the stares of hatred and distrust in the eyes of the other Fire soldiers. He could scarcely blame them. He _had _betrayed his word, even unwittingly. He gave the dead soldier s look, and sighed.

"Put him with the others." He told his people. "Then man the caravans. We're leaving this place now.

* * *

The man who was called Kentharo crashed into the wall, having been thrown there with all the force Zuko could muster. The man was groggy, and fearful. Already knowing he'd bitten more than he could chew. Zuko meant to expand on that fear.

He jumped quickly, hopping to the spot the other man was picking himself up, and landed on the man's ribs, hearing them crack sickeningly. Kentharo screamed, but no one would care to come. Not in the dark alleyway the disgraced prince had pushed him into.

"Kentharo." He snapped, "I don't think you told me everything I needed to know."

"Spirits…the pain… I… I told you…" the man gasped, his larger frame all but writhing in pain. "Told you… all I know…nonono, hurts…"

"It must. I just broke, oh three bones, maybe four." Zuko hissed implacably, his golden eyes narrowed pitilessly. _You relied solely on wisdom, Uncle. _Zuko thought, _But I'm not you. I don't have your ability to talk. To reach the same result, I need something else._

That was fear. And Zuko, over the years, had developed it into a very potent weapon. He pressed his knee against the man's ribs, cracking them further, making the man bellow and cry in pain. Still the prince stared, undaunted.

"Within minutes, guards will come." He announced. The port had a garrison, certainly. "By this time, I'll be gone. Will the guards take you to a healer," he wondered, and then he focused the elements of heat from within himself, channelling his will to make his forearms burst into flame. "or shall they bury your charred corpse?"

The man's eyes bulged, and something broke in them. What little resistance remained in Kentharo was broken. _I have him. I always have them, no matter how tough or how weak they are._

"Dun…d-dunno a Toph… never heard the name… I swear, no name…"

"Woman wearing deep green clothes. Not tall. Barefoot. Pale eyes. Blind…" Zuko hissed quickly. Time was growing short.

"B-blind…yeah…yeah…yeah. Drunk with a blind woman. Black hair, long, creepy…d-d-drugged her… d-drink…" The man said, his eyes wide, his mouth trembling from the fear and the pain. Zuko brought his burning arms closer, and Kentharo cringed in terror.

"You drugged her? Why?" he demanded.

"I was asked! I swear! They gave me money. A year's worth of money, just to get her to sit, to get her drugged. They got her! She couldn't put up a fight, g-g-got taken easy. They-t-they…"

"WHO is _they_?" he snarled.

"Imperials! Imperial soldiers! Firebenders, and a weird lady!!" The man wailed.

Zuko slammed his burning hand next to the man's head, and the man began to cry. He was terrorized. _Good! That's no less than he deserves! _But something bothered him in what Kentharo had said.

"A weird lady? Describe her!"

"…hurts…lady… dark air… beautiful…but cold. No emotions…" the man shook his head. "No, emotions…bored! She looked bored. She yawned! Yawned! Like this…l-like a this…"

"Like it wasn't worth her time?"

"Y-yeah!"

Zuko's mind reeled from that fact. He knew who it was. He knew the woman in question. Of all of the people around his sister, she had been the only one who could fully withstand Azula's temper. Bored. Life was boring to her, at times. _Mai. One of Azula's dogs now. What could it mean?_

"One more question, and I let you go." Noise, in the street. The city guard, no doubt. "Did they say anything about where they'd take her?"

"H-huh…"

"Speak!"

"S-south!" the man wept, shivering. "South! A temple! A temple. Oh please, oh please, spirits, spirits, it hurts…"

Zuko left the man be, quickly taking flight, easily dodging the patrol. The fool would send them running after him, but the prince had seen worse chases in his life. Compared to the one Azula had once given him, this would be nothing.

_Azula. You took Toph south. A temple? _He'd have to check on that. Now, however, something else was bothering her, almost as much as knowing the arrogant Blind Bandit might be in danger. _They knew. Mai knew. Knew of Toph's plans. Information was leaked._

He sped through the streets, his mind set, his goal clear.

* * *

Katara was as tough, as prideful, and as stubborn as any of her family. She had her mother's wilfulness, and her father's fighting spirit. Fighting a battle was something she was fully prepared to do in her soul.

Within reason.

But, as she ran on the icy banks near her home village, she knew better than to actually fight the three firebenders who ran after her in the open like. This. It wouldn't do any good. They'd defeat her, take her, and then follow the nearby trails and come upon her village.

_Like I could let them see the trails. Better for them to hunt me. _She thought feverishly. That was why she'd attacked the three with what Waterbending she'd mastered. That was why she was running like a polar bear dog. She wasn't running out of fear, but out of necessity.

She gave off a gasp as a fire missile impacted nearby. _Okay, maybe I'm running out of fear. Just a bit._ She admitted. They'd lost patience with her, it seemed. She wished she could turn and fight, but they had too much advantage now.

Her only chance was that the Fire Nation people were notoriously bad in the cold. They came from warm, humid places. The ice lands would sap their strength in time, allowing her to escape, and maybe retaliate.

_Raids are more frequent in the region. Many villages have been attacked. Sokka would say that they're up to something big. _She angrily remonstrated herself. She hadn't meant to think of her brother. Her brother, who'd left to join their father in his war to stop the Fire Nation.

Her brother, who left without her and abandoned her and the village. _Damn you, Sokka! _She thought angrily. Still, she agreed with her brother's former musings. The Fire Nation was getting bolder, striking inland more often.

Her breath was coming in short gasps now, and she felt pain in her chest. But her pursuers, she felt, were losing ground. _Yes! They're tired! I knew that if I hanged on long enough…_

Then, like it sometimes happened to people in a hurry and running on ice, she slipped, and fell down the side of the bank. She tried to grasp the edge, but her mittens slipped on the ice, and she went down.

The way down wasn't steep, but she did manage to feel every bumps, ending with her almost hitting the side of an ice outcropping with her head. She saw stars for a few instants, and had to fight against blacking out. All the while, she heard the footsteps bringing her pursuers closer.

_End of the road. Hey, is this the place me and Sokka played in back in the old days? _She looked around blearily, slowly. She realized that it was. A place of icy water and even colder mounds of ice, where she and her brother had played. Sokka would play the warrior, and she'd tell him of her beliefs about the avatar.

_How he laughed at that. And how laughable it was. _She told herself, as the cobwebs began to clear. The Avatar had disappeared from the world, heralding the Fire Nation's rise in power, and the violent wars between it and the rest of the world. Now, it seemed, it was winning, and no Avatar. _What about the Balance?_

She rose to her feet, panting, cringing as pain shot through her head and shoulder. Touching herself, she saw no blood, but those parts of her body had taken a beating. She took a step forward, and felt three large fireballs flying just over her head, hitting the large piece of ice farther on.

Looking at it a moment, she remembered that Sokka had wanted to go fishing around there once, but she'd convinced him not to, preferring to practice her Waterbending nearer the shore.

She glanced up, and saw that the three men had arrived, looking haggard from their pose. Haggard, but determined. Frowning, Katara forced her will upon the surrounding water, forcing parts of it up… and a blast of fire once again screamed overhead, nearer, stopping her. She barely heard that one's impact. Distantly, as she stared at her enemies grimly, she heard the cracks of the ice mound, breaking up under the heat of the warning shots.

"Surrender, Waterbender. You can't win. There's no point in dying here." One of the Firebenders grunted down to her. _Surrender, huh? You'd like that, huh? Think I'm going to go like a little penguin, huh?! _She would never be a slave to Firebenders. She'd die first.

Resolutely, knowing she was certainly undertaking her last actions as a living being, she went into herself, and called upon every bit of training and will she ever put, and the water bubble and began to lift.

"Don't be a fool!" The Firebender shouted, and he and his companions prepared themselves.

"Better a fool than a prisoner!" she snapped, and she began to lift her arms.

And then a light flashed from behind, overpowering all of her senses.

* * *

Within the icy cocoon, for the first time in many decades, Aang's consciousness stirred. _Explosions. Being attacked. Must… must…defend. Defend! DEFEND!_

And his powers reacted to this thought, activating powers thought dead for well over a century.

* * *

_And destiny, detained for yet one more decade, finally unfurled its wings…_


	3. Chapter Two

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Two**

Katara turned towards the flash and reacted before she fully understood what she was seeing. Ducking behind an ice outcropping, she plastered herself down as a gust of wind surged over her.

No, not quite. She could feel something searing, like steam. That was it. It was like a stream of steam, screeching forward. She could feel the ice melting from the sheer fury of it.

For fury it was. For an instant, Katara's eyes had stared into a human shape. Just a fraction of a second, and then she had ducked. She had seen just enough to see that the person was small. Small… and oddly glowing like a miniature star.

She had been lucky, compared to the three Firebenders, likely because she hadn't been targeted by the attack – they had been. The stream of steam tore a chunk of the ice, and boiled the three men alive in seconds.

They barely had time to scream, and Katara saw their agonized throes before they dropped, still flailing about and trembling, their bodies unable to believe that they had just died. She felt a moment of pity for them – nobody deserved such a fate.

The glow remained. Katara's teeth chattered as she attempted to calm herself. After what she'd seen, it wasn't easy. _What was that? That looked like… Bending. But not Water. _Her mind tried to reason. _Yes, Waterbending. But Firebending and… Airbending. _

Her mind tried to wrap around that concept. Yes, what she's just witnessed was no less than the mixing and weaving of three elements. But Airbending hadn't been witnessed by anyone in over a century. Even Katara's grandmother had heard it only from tales from her own grandparents.

_And then, there's the mixing of the elements. No body can do that. Nobody! _She thought. And then, something in her mind answered, firmly, maddeningly clear. _No, _it said, _one person has the ability to call forth all four of the Great Elements. _

This thought made her spasm upward, her eyes wide in disbelief. She eschewed safety, her mind driven only by the need to know, her need to see with her own eyes what might well be her death.

Standing inside a small cyclone of air was a boy. She placed him at eleven, perhaps twelve or thirteen at most. He was slight of build, ascetic in appearance, and garbed in a garb of yellow and orange. Eyes glowed with a fierce light in the midst of a bald head, and tattoos shaped like what appeared to be arrows also shone along with them.

Katara had never seen one, but she'd been on trips with her parents and brother, visiting many villages, hearing stories from the old days. The elders always told of one people who garbed themselves, and styled themselves, in such a peculiar way.

A people thought long gone now.

Then the glow died, and the fierce points of light became confused eyes, which looked over Katara sleepily before closing. The wind stopped at once, no longer being commanded, and the youth began to plummet to the water under him.

He never made it. Before he had fallen even one meter, a great shape had surged and grabbed the boy, jumping – _or flying_ – over and landing only two meters from her. Katara looked wide-eyed at the enormous, white beats, which had a fur marked with the same tattoos she'd seen on the boy.

_I've seen drawings. On an old lambskin, over two centuries old. It depicted a beast like that. _She thought in disbelief, her teeth still clicking together. She felt goosebumps all over her, and she knew it wasn't from the chill.

She staggered forward, and that beast looked at her. It didn't growl, as she might have expected it too. It didn't make any aggressive moves towards her, for which she thanked every single spirit in the Spirit World for. It looked, inquisitive eyes on a huge, furry face.

"Easy," she coughed up, her throat dry and shaken from the recent events. First she'd almost committed suicide, and then she was seeing something a part of her had always hoped existed. "Easy, I'm just…going to help. If…if I can. Okay?"

And, to her surprise, the huge animal seemed to understand. Or, at least, he understood she was non-threatening. It grunted something deep and guttural, then turned its attentions to the small boy. Katara came over with a lump forming in her throat.

She looked at the boy. Looked at his tattoos, and realized that what she'd seen fit with the old stories: the young boy had the attire and the physical trappings of an Air Nomad monk, better known to the world as a Airbender. Except no Airbender had been seen for about a century. They were assumed gone, all killed.

_But not this one. _She looked at the blasted ice mound behind the boy and the beast. It had been blasted apart, ice jutting having showered the floor and the water. It seemed the boy had burst from. That.

Katara had always been a strong woman. Ever since she'd been a girl, she'd learned to cope with situations, even those which wounded her heart: her mother's death, her father's leaving, her brother doing the same. She'd had her share of horrendous moments. She'd never found herself incapable of doing anything.

Until now. Until she saw the boy's face. _Can it be? No way! But… if he is…_

"He's going to, huh, freeze if we stay here." She babbled to the giant, furry creature. "We, uh, I'll get him to my village. Um, uh, its better not to stay here. A patrols's gonna come soon, no doubt." She gingerly picked the boy in her arms, and was surprised; he was so light. She gave the great beast a nervous stare as it shuffled to its feet, looking down at her. It was enormous, and yet… she didn't feel all that threatened.

She looked at the melted ice, at the boiled, seared bodies. _Could it be?_

"We'll go to my village. Come on… err… big furry thing." She heard herself say, but her mind could only replay what she'd seen: the power, the glowing eyes, the garb of a culture gone for over a century…

_Could it be…?!?_

_Had…_

_Had the…_

_No… it couldn't be… but still… _

* * *

"A mole." Sokka stated, grimacing. "We really should expect things like that to crop up, but… its always when you don't need them."

It was lucky that Zuko had known about the raid Sokka had intended – it had allowed him to make contact quickly. Far removed from any zones which the Fire Army regularly patrolled, the farmstead they were discussing in, although appearing ordinary, was one of the Resistance's many boltholes, a sanctuary of sorts. Now, in an nondescript room inside the nondescript farm, the two men stared at each other grimly.

The odour wafted to Sokka's nose easily, allowing him to taste the Shin Zai tea Zuko had made for himself. It was one of the elements which had changed in the former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation with the wise Iroh's death.

The change had been gradual, but over the years, Zuko had adopted some of Iroh's traits to deal with his grief. He became somewhat calmer, somewhat less impulsive. He no longer closed his mind to some things. And he often drank tea, having adopted the beverage as a way of keeping a link to his beloved uncle.

Sokka couldn't begrudge him these. The fire prince had been there – unlike others – when Hakoda's death had hit Sokka hard. He, Toph and Bumi had prevented him from falling apart. If Zuko wished to drink tea, Sokka wasn't about to bother about it.

"I knew you'd want to know." The former prince said pensively, frowning, his scar making his scowl even more fearsome. "With what you and some of the others have been secretly cobbling."

"Yeah, you bet I'm glad I know it." he grunted, "Makes me angry just to think of the complications we'll have to pull it off, now. "We're talking about bottling up over one thousand soldiers. Something like that's bound to make that little sister of yours bitchy and reckless."

Zuko gave a half smile, which quickly dissipated. "My dear, dear sister Azula," he mused with a definite edge of hatred, "Is power-hungry, and proud. But she's not with the sort of temper to be goaded easily."

"Whatever happens, if we can just get her to make one little mistake…" Sokka mused, then shook his head. If this didn't work, they'd try something else. One day, they'd get her. And then they'd strike at Ozai directly. He decided to change the subject. "What about your end?"

Zuko's scowl grew fiercer. "Its just like we thought. Mai captured her! I've got confirmation."

Sokka closed his eyes a moment in dismay. A mole, and now the blind, arrogant, irreplaceable Toph in Imperial hands. _Damn! Now all we need is the Comet to come back again!_

"You're sure of your source?"

"He wasn't in a position to lie, I can assure you." Zuko answered with the heat he had shown less after Iroh's death. Zuko, like the few other firebenders in the Resistance, had had to work thrice as hard as others to prove his worth, and he hated to be doubted. Not that Sokka did. The water tribesman had learned that the ex-prince was, if nothing else, thorough.

Sokka saw the slight tightening of Zuko's lips after each sip of tea, as if something particularly bitter had been tasted. The brown-skinned warrior knew, however, that it had nothing to do with the tea. It had to do with Toph, herself.

He wasn't privy to everything about the two, but the fact that they were, aside from the ancient Bumi, the strongest Benders in the Resistance, had created a sort of rivalry. But Zuko's recent search spoke of something beyond simple rivalry.

"South, eh?" Sokka mused, tapping his finger on the wooden wall. "There's always the lands of my people. All that ice… she wouldn't be able to bend there, or to see." He surmised, but Zuko was already shaking his head, frowning.

"No. My people hold only a few outposts there." The prince muttered. "But there's one other place south of the Kingdom, a ruin where Earthbending is reputed to be much weakened. In fact, the only strong type there…"

"Is Airbending." Sokka finished. "I know the lore. The Southern Air Temple? Not a bad place to keep a powerful Earthbender captive. I assume you'll be leaving?"

"Yes. I was wondering if I couldn't commandeer one of our ships." Zuko looked at Sokka plainly, unflinchingly. "I know that it's a lot to ask, but I'd really need it."

"You don't have to say it twice!" The young man who had once crossed a continent to find his father stated, "Toph's too important. Even if she wasn't a friend, she knows too much, and we can't have her tortured into revealing us. Take the ship. On my authority."

Zuko coughed, looked elsewhere, as if embarrassed. "Thank you." He coughed out. Sokka smirked. The prince had never become very good at showing gratitude, but the effort was sincere.

"No, Zuko. Thank you. And find her, would you?" he grinned, and the Sokka who had existed before his father's death shone through slightly. "I'm really starting to miss that arrogant, obnoxious, psycho, blind girl around!"

"As do I, my friend." Zuko said with an earnestness which surprised Sokka. There _was_ something more than rivalry there, after all. "So do I. More than I care to feel."

* * *

Aang slowly awoke to the outside world, feeling like the rest of his body wouldn't follow. He felt like the stone of the many statues adorning the temple he had always called home – heavy, useless, incapable of movement.

He rose to a sitting position, blinking as he tried to bring his eyes into focus. _Weird,_ he thought in his glazed consciousness, _that doesn't look like my room back at the temple. Did someone put curtains on the windows. _He sleepily wondered if it wasn't his mentor playing a trick on him.

"So you're finally awake, boy." Came a voice, a voice as kindly as Gyatso, speaking of age and wisdom like his did, but also a female voice he didn't recognize. He blinked harder, starting, and looked to the side.

There was an elderly woman there. White-haired, her weathered face showing the wrinkles of care and advanced age, looking at him with both gentleness and something like caution. He noted she was dressed in the parkas of the water tribes.

Confusion set in. _Who is this? _Then he saw the bed of animal pelts he had been sleeping in, the icy walls of the igloo, and the trapping which only could come from the South Pole. There was no mistake – he'd visited villages with Appa before.

_What am I doing in a Southern Water Tribes village? _He asked himself in conclusion. He searched his memory of recent events. Then, suddenly, his fuzzy mind told him all he needed to know.

He remembered the last days at the Temple. How he'd been ostracized by the people there. The adults treated him mostly like a weapon, the younger ones like something beyond their comprehension. Only Gyatso had been unchanged, and they had decided to separate Aang from his tutelage.

He'd fled without thinking, not knowing where he'd go, just wanting to be away from it all. He remembered being caught in a storm, falling into the water, and then… then nothing. Blank in his mind, muddled with images he didn't quite understand.

_I guess I must've been washed away to the shores of the southern icelands. I really strayed far. _He thought in dismay. He realized that the old woman was patiently waiting for him to say something. He bowed, politely, to the elder.

"Hello, my name is Aang, of the Air Nomads." He said, his throat feeling strange, as if talking for the first time in a long while. "It seems I've been found by your people. Thank you."

The old woman looked at him with ponderous sadness, but her smile was genuine. "There's no need to thank us, Aang. My name is Kanna, of the Southern Water Tribe. We welcome those in need. And you certainly seemed to be in need.

"I sure was." He coughed. His lungs felt strange, too. "How long was I out?" he asked. The older woman seemed to be considering her answer carefully. The young Master Airbender felt a chill. _This is bad, isn't it?_

"Well… Katara brought you and the, the air bison I believe, with her five days ago." She stated simply. She seemed to be unstatisfied with her answer, but Aang barely saw that reaction.

_FIVE days?!? And who knows how long I've been drifting! _Aang thought, aghast. _The people at the Temple must be going crazy! The elders are gonna boil me alive when they see me! I'll have chores for the next ten years! And Gyatso…!_

That stopped him. Thinking of the old master Airbender, of the man's gentleness, and of the way Aang had left, abruptly, without proper goodbyes, made the young Airbender feel extremely guilty. He hadn't thought of how Gyatso would feel, not really.

_Gyatso. I gotta go back. The elders can give me as much punishment chores as they want. I gotta go back, and tell Gyatso I'm sorry! _He thought desperately. _Over five days! What was I thinking?!?_

"I-I'm sorry. I'm grateful you helped me, but," Aang coughed again, and wondered if he'd gotten sick to boot, "But I've got to be on my way. I've got to head back to my temple. They must be worried sick about me."

Again, the old woman seemed to be considering her words very carefully. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then sighed.

"Forgive me, Aang, but I must ask the question…" she began, a bit awkwardly. Aang didn't even wonder what it was about, and decided to cut the moment short. He had the markings of a master, after all, and none were supposed to master Airbending so young, being known as the most subtle of the four bending styles.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm an Airbender." He said reluctantly. "I know we don't come around here often." _I just wish that I was ONLY an Airbender. Oh, why did they have to tell me about being the Avatar?!?. _It seemed, strangely enough, to confirm something in the elderly Kanna's mind.

"I see. That explains it, then." She mused. Before she could get further, the heavy flap covering the entrance to the simple home opened, and a woman stepped inside, holding what seemed to be fruits of some kind in a basket

"Grandma, I brought some…" The woman stopped when she noticed Aang sitting up. Aang noticed, despite having little experience in such things, that she was very beautiful. Even with her heavy garb, she looked slender, and her face, brown with wide blue eyes, seemed flawless. Aang promptly lost his tongue as they looked at each other.

The woman entered slowly, as if not quite believing what she was seeing. She handed the basket to the older woman, and kept staring. Finally, she croaked. "You're awake." And Aang didn't know what to say.

The elder woman, however, had more wits than the both of them together. "Aang, this is Katara, the person who brought you here. Katara, this is Aang… an Airbender."

Aang bowed, finding his voice at this new information. That girl had found him, and he was in her debt. No matter what, Gyatso had always told him, gratitude had to always be expressed to those who had aided you.

"Thank you very much, Katara." He said with as much of a smile his twirling emotions could manage.

She seemed to relax at hearing his voice, and nodded gently. He was, again, struck by the simple beauty she presented. That, and both the will and compassion which seemed to radiate from her.

"Hello, Aang." She said quite brightly. "You're very much welcome!"

* * *

No matter where she went, Ty Lee turned heads. Not because of her beauty – although she knew that she had nothing to envy other women – but because of the relatively revealing clothes she always wore.

Aside from her sandals, she wore only a short, tight skirt and a tight upper body mesh. Although dressed in the red and gold of her station, she knew that she looked more like a circus performer than anything else.

The clothing, however, was made for combat and practice, not for balls and banquets, or diplomatic duties. It served to allow Ty Lee to fully utilize her physical skills at a moment's notice.

Azula never bothered to say anything about how Ty Lee dressed, no matter how revealing it might be. Not only was the Crown Princess bothered by much more important issues, she also knew that Ty Lee's physical prowess were well worth a few dressing liberties.

Ty Lee walked her way through Ba Sing Se's Inner Ring, the fallen Earth Kingdom's former hub of power, where the Earth King had held court, and where plans were always made to counter the Fire Nation's rising supremacy.

Now, that very hub had become the center of Azula's power, and the Royal Palace had become the Crown Princess' headquarters where she, ironically, oversaw the slow destruction of those units still upholding the dying legacies of the Kingdom.

The opulent mansions and castles and art halls had been taken over, and the few nobles who had spoken out against the takeover were long fled or crushed. It had only been in the most populated of the three rings, the Outer Ring, that resistance had been fierce and bloody. Thousands had been killed there. But finally, it had fallen.

And then, when that happened, Firelord Ozai announced the creation of the Fire Empire, and the rest was history. That was why Ty Lee received no lasting looks while she walked: no one wished to be misread and subjected to Azula's whimsical wrath.

_This isn't the kind of life I wanted. _She told herself, the last of many times. _I want people to look. I want to spring and jump and show off! I wanted to be the greatest acrobat in the world, not some imperial war hero. _

The choice had never been hers, of course. Azula had come, years ago, to recruit her for her abilities. She'd refused then, believing that her new life was worth it, believing – foolishly, in hindsight – that Azula would understand.

Azula hadn't. And after she had transparently arranged for an 'accident' which nearly killed three acrobats – Ty Lee among them, the agile woman had seen the writing on the wall, and had joined. And she had held it in for years, as the war continued, and casualties mounted, until she couldn't stand it anymore.

Then, she had gone on a slightly new path.

But today, she had been summoned. Azula summoning someone meant 'right when you receive the message, or else'. As such, Ty Lee had hurried, and entered the gigantic palace full of apprehension.

Around her, the only change of ownership visible was that the Earth Kingdom's flag and tabards had been replaced by the Fire Nation's, now the Fire Empire's. Only the Throne Room had been somewhat changed, with red and gold draperies draperies, and darker wood panels reminding all of Enshouku, their capital.

There, seated on a chair much more flamboyant than the Earth King ever had, sat Azula, surrounded by Fire Nobles and officers, and, of course, Dai Li agents. These had never been loyal to anything but power, and had switched their allegiance to Azula in a heartbeat. _Oh? Mai's not here. Haven't seen her for a while. _She noted.

Azula spotted her entering at once, and all but jumped to her feet, dressed in fine but practical clothing. She seemed, if nothing else, excited. _And that's why I'm starting to feel cold in my stomach. _Ty Lee decided.

"Ah, Ty Lee!" She said, a smile which never quite lost its cruelty on her face. She gave the others around her a wave of her hand. "Leave us. We'll finish this later." No one was foolish enough to say anything. They walked out of the room swiftly, except the Dai Li guards.

Azula held a piece of paper in her hand, and was showing it to the acrobat with some relish. "We got one of them, Ty Lee. Finally, we got one of the big ones!"

"The big ones? What are you talking about, Azula?"

"Of the so-called Resistance, idiot, what else?" The crown princess exclaimed with a teasing voice. "It looks like my efforts paid off in the end. Then again, they always do, so should I be surprised?"

Ty Lee didn't hear the self-flattery. Her ears had blocked off, and she couldn't breathe. It was like her blood had congealed. This was something she'd always expected, but it hit nonetheless.

"Who… did you catch, Azula?" She tried to sound as normal as possible. Lucky for her, Azula was in the middle of a rare moment of joy. In those moments, her keen judgement was usually a bit lax.

"Like I said, Ty Lee, a big one." Azula smiled teasingly. "Wanna know who?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." _Very, very much._

Azula leaned close. "The Blind Bandit. That blasted master Earthbender." She whispered. "Mai got her at Korosen Port. She let herself be fooled and drugged, and was easy to take out afterwards."

"But, then, Azula… that means… you knew her plans in advance?"

Azula grinned. "Ah, Ty Lee. You underestimate me still. I have my ways. And I do have a useful contact among those fools in the Resistance." She gave a short chuckle. "Soon, they'll be crushed, and we'll attack the remaining holdouts from the old kingdom. And then, well…"

Ty Lee shook her head. No time for panic. She had to stay her course. _It's the only way I've got left. I'll die if she ever learns, but… there's nothing else to do but that. For our people._ She'd continue down the same dangerous path she'd first taken long ago.

She hoped that some in the Resistance could help the Blind Bandit. She seemed like a decent person. There was nothing Ty Lee could do, with Mai already over there.

"And after we've completely crushed the Kingdom?" she asked, trying to sound playful. Azula gave a look around her, at the palace and realm she had been crucial in conquering. And, beyond that, those eyes filled with malice and ambition saw the Empire she had helped forged.

And, with that single glance, Ty Lee had an idea what her friend and jailor had in mind. No words were needed. The fear the acrobat felt told it all. _And yet, I'll stay my course. I gotta do it. There's no choice._

_For our people's future. Geez, sucks to be me these days…_

* * *

Katara looked at Aang as he performed yet another feat of Airbending.

"Watch this, guys!" Aang said enthusiastically as he stood in the middle of many children who were either his age or not much older. He lifted his arms and turned on himself, quickly, as if urging the ground to follow him.

And follow him it did. Wisps and strings of snow lifed the from it, turning slowly, as is following Aang's movements. The coiled around Aang's body, then around his arms, giving him the impression of being one with the cold, a god of ancient times.

And then Aang moved his hands upward and clapped his mittens flatly, and the string of snow collided together, showering all in a scintillating cascade. The children immeditately clapped their hands, asking for more.

"You're so cool, Aang!" One of the girl said. The Airbender grinned, happy with the praise. He was dressed in the heavier garments of the Water Tribes to prevent the cold from harming him, but his bald held and tattoos were a dead giveaway for what he was.

It had been three days since Aang had awoken, and the young man seemed to have regained his health. Initially wishing to return home immediately, he'd been convinced to wait until he was healthy enough. _And until either Gran-Gran or I found the guts to tell him the truth, _she reflected with some guilty bitterness.

With the facts accepted that he had to stay, Aang had proven himself very useful. He'd used his Airbending to aid in chores, such as transportation, and had also used it to bring a bit of joy in every single one of those.

Aang spotted Katara looking at him. In an instant, he'd taken his stick, unfolded it into the strange, winged vehicle he said Airbenders loved to use, and glided over to her in moments.

"Hi, Katara!" he said brightly, "How's it going?"

The young Waterbender smiled. Aang had something in him which disarmed easily. It was a naiveté in the world, probably born by the fact that, if what she suspected was true, he had lived in a world much more peaceful and optimistic as Katara's own.

He had told her of the greatness of the Southern Water Tribe's capital – destroyed decades ago in Katara's time, and of the great celebrations in the Fire Nation. His depiction of her enemy shook her more than she thought it would. The people of that time had seemed so… so carefree.

A great massed moved through the village in front of her, and she stopped short. She quickly recognized Aang's animal companion, a large fish in its mouth. The beast seemed to relish the idea of eating it.

"Hey, Appa!" Aang said happily, waving to the air bison. "Found yourself some dinner, eh, buddy?" Appa's answer was a snort which seemed to be – to Katara's ears – an affirmative. And then the beast was walking past them, it mind seemingly focused on finding a good spot to eat.

The youth gave Katara a grin. "This is a very nice village, Katara!" he exclaimed, "I'll have to ask my teacher, Gyatso, if I can come here again! I'll ask him to come. You'll see, he's a great old guy!"

Katara had been about to point out that the village wasn't as happy as Aang thought, and to tell him exactly why it was so, when she heard the young man's words. Sadness overwhelmed her, as well as knowledge of what she had to do. _I've got to tell him. _She told herself, _he deserves to know what happened to the Air Nomads, and their temples._

"Aang…" she began hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"There's something you should know about the Air No…" She began, then stopped as she noticed Jurik, one of the young men of the village, running towards her. He had been the oldest of the children, and had been the one to train with Sokka when he was still with them. Consequently, Jurik was one of their best sentries.

His face, however, spoke of a large problem even before he opened his mouth. He was gasping, wide-eyed, and Katara stopped him when he attempted to mouth something to her.

"Calm down, Jurik." she said, slipping into the role her brother had left her when he'd left the village to search for his and Katara's dad. "Calm down, okay? What's happened?"

Kurik almost crouched from the lack of breath, hands of tights. "People… want to see… who's in charge…" He coughed.

She furrowed her eyebrows, even as ice gripped her stomach. Beside her, Aang seemed to be rather interested by the development, taking its details in hungrily. Katara decided that she wouldn't allow herself to show emotions of the sort, and she wasn't about to break that private vow.

"People?" she asked, "Who, Kurik?"

"Well, they… I can't believe it. Maybe its because of the Airbender…" the young man babbled.

"Who…is at the gate, Kurik?" she asked, and this time, she glared, knowing the other tribesman would fail sooner or later. Feeling that as well, Kurik lifted frightened eyes to her and said two ominous words.

"Fire soldiers!"


	4. Chapter Three

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Three**

Aang had followed Katara out of a sense of curiosity, despite her telling him to wait. Fire soldiers in the _south_? As far as he knew the Fire Nation rarely went anywhere near the water tribes, except for trading.

Besides, Kuzon had always told him that the military forces served mainly to protect the volcanic, jungle-filled, humid lands the Fire Nation called home from pirates and people like that.

Joining Katara and three of the people who called themselves the 'warriors of the village' – people who couldn't be much older than Aang themselves, the reluctant incumbent Avatar found himself looking at the soldiers in wonderment.

Their garments were more menacing, and less bulky, than the ones Aang remembered. And five of them wore more elaborate helms than the others. Of these five, four had a mask one which made them not only unreadable, but positively terrifying.

The soldiers themselves stood in formation, perfectly straight, seemingly ignoring the biting, ambient cold. They were well-armed and had a chilly look to their eyes. The Airbender couldn't help but shiver, and not from the cold.

_This… they don't look like any Fire Nation soldiers I've ever seen. _He thought glumly. Something was very wrong here, he realized. _Yeah, but what?_

Katara looked at the Fire Nation detachment with mittens on her hips, looking at the assembled soldiery with a terse face. The one facing her – a stern-looking, bearded man – looked just as severe. The Avatar felt goosebumps.

"So you want to talk to me, it seems?" Katara said acidly, "I'm here now, so what do you want?"

The one who appeared to be the leader of the group seemed unimpressed, simply coughing to clear his voice. His words, although firm, didn't hold the same venom hers did. "Its you we want. You match the description we received perfectly." He noticed Aang. "You, and the young bald man. My name is captain Xankou, of the Imperial Army. What are your names?"

"Hello!" Aang bowed, smiling as much as he could in the tense atmosphere. "I'm Aang, from the Southern…"

"And I'm Katara, from this village." She interrupted quickly. "Now you know our names, so state you business and be off." From the way she looked, their departure couldn't come soon enough.

Aang couldn't help but frown at her. _Geez, why is she so rude? _He thought in frustration. _He's being nice enough about this. The least Katara could do is be a bit nicer. Maybe that's the Southern Water Tribes temper Gyatso told me about._

"As I said, you're our business." Xankou mused, seemingly ignoring the resentment in her tone, as if he was used to it. "You and your friend injured some of our people."

"We did?!?" Aang said, aghast. It couldn't be, could it? But, the man looked so sure of it. Maybe, if he'd had a fever. _No way! I'd never do that! I've gotta go see these guys! There's no way!_

"They made it back to the outpost, but died of their wounds. Except lieutenant Manzoh, here." The captain gestured to one of the masked men, who unmasked to reveal an angry face, deformed by the blisters of… _Of what? Boiling water? _Aang wondered. "Lieutenant, is it they?"

"Yes, captain." The man growled, first pointing at Katara. "That woman, she's a Waterbender, and she attacked us." He then pointed an even angrier finger at Aang. "And he's the one who killed the others, and almost killed me!"

"HUH?!?" Aang looked at the finger, at the accusing face. "No way! I don't attack people! I'm an Airbender! We don't attack people without reason!"

"Aang!" Katara cried sharply, and he looked at her in frustration. The captain only looked at the Avatar, pondering, eyes narrowed.

"As I thought, those were tattoos of the Air Nomads. Unseen for over a century, confined to history books, and now here." He muttered, as if in a trance. But he regained control quickly. "Whatever the case, you're under arrest. Come with us peacefully."

Aang nodded vigorously. _That's right, you bet I'm coming. And you'll soon see that was all a big mistake! _His memory of recent events were fuzzy, but being accused of intentionally hurting people incensed the young Airbender.

"No way." Katara grunted. "You Firebenders and your Firelord's reach doesn't include this place. We're not going with you. I want that clear." Her voice spoke of finality. Aang was positively aghast.

_What's she doing? That just makes us look guilty? Is she crazy? _Aang wondered nervously. The angry, blister-faced man looked both furious and elated at that, replacing his mask, while the captain looked resigned. _Like he's seen this way too many times. What's WRONG with this place? _He'd take weeks of latrine chores back at the Temple.

And then, another disturbing thought. _What 'Empire'?_

The captain looked resigned, but signalled his men, who began to fan out, even as the four masked men crouched in the position Aang had seen Firebenders take before practicing their art. Katara, in response, also crouched. The youth behind Katara tried to look defiant, but rather looked apprehensive.

"I don't want any violence." The captain said. "But you're giving me no choice."

"There's no choice at all." Katara growled, her eyes narrowing. She gave the aghast Aang a look the Avatar found strangely desperate and fond at the same time. "He won't go with you. Not if I have anything to say about it." And she thrust her hands up, as if lifting a great weight.

And a torrent of water gushed out from the ice, striking the Firebenders and captain Xankou furiously. And Aang, looking at Katara, and then at the soldiers, made a distinct decision about what was happening.

_That girl…Katara…_ he thought,

* * *

Katara had learned her art by herself, as no one in the village had known even a hint of Waterbending. Her father had once searched around the surrounding region, asking other tribe leaders and travellers, for a teacher, only to come up empty-ended.

That wasn't surprising. Waterbenders had been hit hard in the early days of Sozin's War, most dying defending their now-vanished capital. No one remained within reasonable distance to teach her. As such, she'd learned her art by herself.

And her understanding had grown over the years, far beyond the times she'd spent practicing under her father's gentle eyes or her brother's fond, mocking jibes. She had learned much, and grown in her power.

All that said, she knew that facing five Firebenders in battle were impossible odds, even here, where Water was strong and Fire weak. As soon as she'd known the way the conversation was turning, she'd worked through the currents of water underneath them, forcing it up, letting it build up, and then, focusing on a weak point in the ice, she'd forced it to gush forth.

Her ploy worked. The geyser's pressure blew through the scarred Firebender, knocking him into the others, putting them off-balance. _If they organize, I'm done for. _She told herself, _So I'll keep it up as long as I can!_

Her mind was one with the element, and she directed it with all of the strength she could muster. She kept the geyser on the Firebenders, not letting them have any maneuvering room, using one hand, but used the other to send another powerful, watery gush to impact upon the soldiers, who were charging her. They fell back, keeping their distance, sputtering. They left this business to the Firebenders.

_Smart thing, and pretty fortunate for me. _she thought, focusing most of her efforts on the more potent enemies. The Firebenders were clustered together, buffeted by water, unable to do much.

And then, a stream of fire shot at her, and only luck allowed her to reroute enough water to shield her from the blast. She inwardly cursed as she saw what was happening: three of the Firebenders were taking the brunt of her attacks, but they allowed the other two – including their captain – to recuperate and launch attacks.

_That was a weak shot. _She mused, then winced as another burst narrowly missed her. _But they're getting stronger. Damn. I gotta get Aang away from here. If he's who I think he is, he's too important for them to have. If I can just keep them off, tell him to-_

Katara then heard a shrill warcry, and saw, to her dismay, that the three young men from her very own tribe were about to attack the pinned soldiers. It was something even Sokka, at his hottest, would have thought better than doing. _Then again, maybe not._

"Get back, you idiots!" she shouted, "Don't go out there! Just get Aang away from here as quickly as possible!" She winced as the fire blasts grew in strength. She knew she'd be unable to keep this on forever. The stalemate would break when her own stamina would run out.

"But, Katara-!" One – she couldn't tell which – protested. Preoccupied, her thoughts focused on weaving water and keeping back the enemy, she barely saw Aang moving himself, to the side.

"Just do it!" she shouted right back "I'll keep them back as long as I can!" And as soon as she'd said that, she slipped and fell down, hard on her back. The water, with no mind to weave and control it, became just that and splashed down all around on the ice.

_No, I didn't fall. _She realized. She looked at Aang, to find him in a strange position, looking guilty. _He Airbended. Why would he – does he think they're _rightIt didn't make sense to her, her mind couldn't grasp it. _Quick, I got to Bend or they'll…_

But her moment of hesitation and confusion had cost her everything. She sat up, but too late to do anything. Two armoured bodies slammed into her, driving her back to the ground. Her three kinsman shouted, and they surged forward.

She knew what would happen if they did, saw it with terrible clarity. They'd be killed, the villagers would resist, and the whole village would be taken as prisoners. Already, Katara heard a commotion down in the village. The villagers would be there soon, and if violence had broken out with the village's warriors.

"NO!" she shouted to them, glaring at them with fury. "Don't come here! Think of the village! Not me! The village!" She saw that they were still coming forward, even as the soldiers came towards them. Twenty soldiers against three boys could only end quickly, and in only one way.

They turned her on her stomach and grabbed her arms, tying her hands. She didn't resist – there was no real point now. All that mattered was the village, and Aang. The Airbender was beside the wet captain saying something quickly, looking worried, and the stern captain seemed to nod and answer. _Fool. But maybe its because you don't know… that's it! Spirits._

Still, her mind remained on her village. She spoke as she was lifted to her feet roughly, looking at the three distraught boys. "Think of the village. Think of your mothers and sisters." _Sokka, I miss you more than ever right now. Look at them. If you were there, I wouldn't be so worried, because you'd look after them, and after Gran-Gran._

Katara looked at the stern-looking captain with a sort of desperation she hated but couldn't help but feel. "Don't punish them! I'm to blame! Only me! My people had nothing to do with me or Aang! So I ask you, _please._"

She choked on that word. Begging the Firebenders, begging the fire soldiers who now seemed ready to cut the three boys to pieces. She nonetheless opened her mouth again, barely noting the guilty look on Aang's face.

"Enough! Have some damned pride, woman!" She heard a voice sneer behind her, and she felt a great pain at the back of her head, around her neck. In the next instant, blackness overwhelmed her.

* * *

Zuko had made it in only four days – a record, owing largely to the efficiency of the people who had ferried him, but also to the fact that these same people were once fishermen in the region, and knew it better than anyone there.

When Firelord Ozai – someone Zuko increasingly wondered why he ever wished to have forgiveness and love from – had used the power of the Comet to renew the Fire Nation offensives, several Earth Kingdom officers and underground leaders had pooled their resources to create measures with which to keep fighting.

This had enabled the remnants of the Earth Army to retreat and hold some pieces of the land, even now. It had also allowed the Resistance to build and many boltholes and resources caches, which is used even now.

And it had also created these coves, each named for one of the past Avatars. Of all these, Kuruk Cove was the second-largest, and perfect for his needs. Built partially into a small, hidden bay, which the resident Earthbenders could artfully hide from sight, it was a small shipyards, bent on producing the small ships which Hakoda had the Sea Rovers.

These ships were largely built like small versions of the Fire Nation's warships, but with less steel and with a greater attention to the way the hull could change directions. Several people – including an old man who had once made weapons for the Fire Nation itself – had refined their concept and their weaponry.

The Sea Rovers were small and lightly-armored compared to the Imperial warships, but were actually faster, more manoeuvrable. Not good for a straight fight, but excellent for quick raids. Perfect for the Resisance.

"Ah, Prince Zuko. Welcome." Said a man in a wheeled chair. Although young of face, his eyes spoke of a grimness and determination beyond his years, meshed with something which Zuko often felt in short supply of: good cheer, and the ability to see the good things of life.

"Hello, Teo." Zuko answered as he disembarked from the fishing boat. "I see everything here is busy."

"Ain't it always?" The young man in charge of Kuruk Cove said with a bright smile, eyes twinkling. "We're not letting my old man get the best out of us! You should see what we've come up with on the Rovers. If I got this right, we could…"

Zuko stopped the coming speech before it could go full swing. Teo, like his highly eccentric father, could go on for hours on end. Instead, he took out a piece of paper, and handed it to the other man. Teo, surprised, snatched it and energetically read it, his eyes widening, then narrowing.

"Toph, captured." Teo mused, and there was no mirth in his eyes now – he was too smart not to see the implications. "This is bad. You're planning to try a rescue?"

"I'm not planning to _try _a rescue. I'll do it, or I'll die." He deadpanned. This seemed to amuse the engineer again.

"Zuko of the Fire Nation." He quipped. "A stiff with no middle ground. But, then, that's what I like about you: there's no hidden meaning to you. So you need a ship?" a grin formed on his lips. "And which would that be?"

"You know which one." The former prince replied. His glance was already turned towards it. Towards the ship he had lived on for many years. A ship full of memories, fond and terrible, joyful and sad. "Have you worked on it?"

"Over the last four years?" Teo scoffed as they made their way through the shipyards. All around them, people milled about, carrying equipment, welding iron, sawing wood. A Cove was a place of constant activity. All around, Resistance fighters and Earthbenders stood guard, watching for trouble. "Are you kidding me?"

"I've torn down the armoured plating, reworked it. Its better than ever. My fool of a father tweaked your engine himself, and we've overhauled the entire inner infrastructure." He seemed so gleeful when he said that, that Zuko actually felt a chill. Teo and his father loved mechanical things a little too much.

"So it'll run? It'll fight if I need it to?" Zuko asked as they approached the ship. It seemed shinier than he remembered, and the engine part seemed slightly different. And, of course, the Fire Nation markings were long gone. Still, it seemed so familiar that Zuko found himself drawn to it.

"It'll outrun anything the Empire can throw at you. And it can take a pounding." Teo answered with perfect confidence. "I'll stake my reputation on that."

"Prince Zuko!" A voice Zuko knew quite well rang before the prince could answer. A grey-haired man was quickly descending the boarding ramp from the ship. He was dressed in simple clothes, but there was no denying the militaristic and proud way the man held himself. The scarred noble stepped towards him, and the two clasped forearms in a glad, friendly grip.

"Lieutenant Zee." Zuko said earnestly, "Glad to see you're doing well."

"And you as well, Your Highness." Zee answered, which moved Zuko more than he could let on. For Zee and he hadn't always seen eye-to-eye. In fact, they had often come to blows, as Zee worried about the crew and Zuko obsessed with an impossible quest.

Only Iroh, in his wisdom, had always managed to keep them away from one another's throat. But Zee had changed when Zuko had called the attack on the Northern Water Tribe amoral and dishonourable. Zee had led the majority of the crew to seize the ship during the battle, going into hiding with Zuko and Iroh.

The prince could never hope to find a seaman he trusted more. _Things change, don't they, Uncle? _He asked, knowing quite well that the old man was watching, somewhere.

"Zee, there's trouble. Big trouble." He said. "And I'm going to need you and your crew to help me handle it before it gets the Resistance in serious jeopardy."

The man who had once considered duelling the prince of the Fire Nation never hesitated, never flinched. Danger was something Zee had long accepted. His answer was also to the point. "Tell me what you need, Prince Zuko, and we'll all do our best to do it. We can sail anytime."

"Too bad I won't see how well the engine works on the sea." Teo mused a bit despondently. "Oh well, it can't be helped, I suppose. But you'd better tell me everything about it in detail!"

Zuko nodded with a thin smile, and then he was all seriousness again. "Lieutenant Zee, ready the ship and the crew! We depart within the hour!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

* * *

Tokamu Forest had always been deep and mysterious. Legends said that the Spirits, when they had last fully come in the Mortal World millennia ago, had congregated there. It was said that it was there that they had ordained much of the chaotic powers of Bending, and of the link between the Spirit World and the Mortal World.

There, they had taken one human with affinity for the Spirit World, but also highly adept at Bending, and had begun the Cycle of the Avatar. Since it was on the site of the Earth Kingdom, where Earthbending was always stronger, the people see it as proof that the First Avatar was an Earthbender, although his story and name were lost to the ages.

Sokka wasn't and had never been a great believer in legends, but even he had been forced – reluctantly – to admit that the Spirit World did indeed exist. Consequently, Tokamu had remained uninhabited, wild, dense, left to its own devices.

The Resistance, needing to believe in safe zones more than in old stories, had settled there quickly. If there were spirits in the place, they had found, they were benign and didn't care about mortal affairs.

As he came into his camp, Sokka thought back to the dangerous Senlin Forest, or the sights and sounds on the Togai Plains, and shivered. There were places in the world where mortals no longer had sway.

"We'll figure it out." He muttered, striding forward, acknowledging the people who saw him with a smile, a wave and a nod. "I'm way better dealing with material threats, and that's what I'm gonna tackle. Let Bumi and Zuko tackle the spiritual ones."

Tokuma Forest was deep, and many rivers had run their course for centuries, ebbed, redirected, died, and were born elsewhere. At one such place, an ancient riverbed had become a relatively narrow gorge, large enough for thirty strong men to walk abreast, and high enough for five to stand on top of each other.

There, using the skills of those northern Waterbenders and Earthbenders he had, as well as the good will of those who had no such skills, Hakoda had carved a bustling camp, with training drills, cooking spaces, armories and living spaces carved into the rock.

Hakoda had been praised by most of the Resistance as a great man of will and ingenuity. To Sokka, of course, he had been everything the young man aspired to be. _I hope I didn't screw up too bad, Dad. _He sighed, _I hope you and Mom are watching over me – and over Katara – these days. We'll need the good luck._

"Stupid." Sokka admonished himself, feeling the sadness well up a bit. "Mom and Dad are together somewhere they don't need to fight anymore. Let them rest! Its up to us down here."

"Talking to yourself, sir?" A voice teased. Sokka started, then cursed as he saw a feminine presence near him. While others were farther off – cooking, practicing, toiling or talking, he hadn't expected anyone would sneak up on him. Then again, she was one of the few who could.

"Hey, Usha." He told the woman with a smirk. "Yeah, you know, getting old. Senility's setting in. Soon I'll be mumbling about lettuce and spouting jokes in the middle of briefings."

"Don't let Bumi ever hear you!" she grinned, amber eyes twinkling.

"He'd likely tell me I'm absolutely right about liking lettuce..." Sokka said, and the two exchanged a chuckle at remembering the highly eccentric, but extremely wise and powerful Earthbender. Not for the first time, Sokka was taken by Usha's more mischievious sense of being. It was so different from her _sensei_.

Usha had the look and slightly stocky build that characterized many women in the Earth Kingdom, but had the eyes, will and natural, feline grace of the people of the Fire Nation. She looked like a cross of both worlds, which was what she was. For Usha was born out of the union of a Fire Soldier and a woman of the Earth Kingdom.

She had lost both a decade ago, and would certainly have become a beggar or thief on the streets, or died on the road, if she hadn't crossed paths with Zuko. Astounding many, the fallen Prince had taken the child in, and he had become both a teacher and older brother to her, while Iroh had been the father figure, benevolently, cheerfully guiding them both.

The old Firebender's death had been a blow for both, but had also brought them closer. Now, only Toph had a place as large as Usha in Zuko's heart. And Usha, in turn, was always the first to defend Zuko against detractors – with Firebending and steel, if necessary.

She wore her dual blades as she always did, but she never seemed to exhude the same level of dread when she grasped them as Zuko did. _I can still toss you on your ass, kiddo. _Sokka mused inwardly, _You're not there yet. Geez, she's dressed almost like Zuko, too. Oh well. Whatever works for her._

"You're here early, sir." She said a bit more seriously. "Weren't you supposed to look over some hiding spots before you came back?"

"Right on both counts." He shrugged, "Can't be helped, though. Something came up, as always." _Except its an actual mole, this time, and that means I gotta warn the rest of the Resistance leaders. They can't do big moves yet. Too risky._

_  
_He heard a change in the voices behind him. Subtle, but definite. The tension had risen, and the aggressiveness of the talks, and the quiet, had increased. Sokka saw Usha, who could see better behind him, crane her neck.

Then he saw her tense. He saw her eyes narrow in surprise, then in hatred. Her mouth worked, and all sense of mirth and good cheer was gone. At that moment, her murderous look would have made even the strongest warrior pause.

"What by all the Damned Spirits is that BASTARD doing here?!?" her voice spat out, shaking with barely-suppressed rage. Grasping her blades, this time threateningly, she seemed fully intent on using them.

Sokka felt the presence. He heard the walks. Quiet ones, but one full of apprehension, the other full of pride. Knowing instantly who he was about to face, Sokka turned on his heels.

The first he saw was Suki. The woman, wearing her full Kyoshi regalia, looked resigned and tired, and her eyes seemed to beg something that Sokka couldn't fully determine. The ache gripped his heart, as well as the familiar resentment. But his attention wasn't on her.

It was on another man. A tall, lean man, with short brown hair and a confident swagger to his being. Wearing bits of armor, strange, hooked swords at his side, he reeked of self-righteousness even from a few feet off, oblivious to the surrounding ill will he was creating.

Sokka immediately put a calming hand on Usha's shoulder, and only a firm grip forced her to relax. For here was the man who had destroyed lives, innocent lives, in the name of justice. Who had made himself judge, jury and executioner. The Butcher of Gaipan, the Slayer of Jiashi. The monster who saw himself as a hero.

The name was acid on Sokka's mouth as he glared up at the taller man. Where Hakoda was everything a Freedom Fighter should be, the one he named was all one shouldn't ever be.

"Jet."

* * *

Suki really didn't like all the tension she felt in the air. It made her more than a bit edgy. She felt frustrated about the whole situation, mostly because it should never have happened this way.

_Jet, you idiot._ She cursed, _You could have done this more diplomatically, but you have to barge in, you had to show off how tough you are. Don't you realize just how hated you are to the people here?_

He probably didn't, at that. She's been with Jet's team for many years, following his groups, helping in their ambushes, and aiding in their ploys. So far, she'd seen little reason to disprove Sokka's distrust of the man: in fact, she'd learned that Jet saw things only the way he wanted to see them. Sometimes, to the point of being irrealistic.

This time, however, she felt that Jet had a point. Although Suki disagreed with the fact that the Duke had killed a surrendered enemy, she felt that Sokka had crossed the line. Allies didn't hit each other, after all. And certainly not allies who could help with Suki's own goals.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?" Jet said, and the strongest of the few surviving Kyoshi Warriors sighed when she heard the condescension in the freedom fighter's voice. This, she felt, was a doomed talk already.

"I got a pretty nice idea of why you're here." Sokka stated, crossing the arms which had held her shattered world together for a time. His own expression spoke of disgust, something he had always used when talking to Jet. _And, recently, when talking to me, _something inside her stated. As always, she refused to heed that voice.

"If you ever hit one of my men again…" Jet began, pointing a finger and leaning to poke at Sokka. Around him, people from Sokka's group – including, Suki saw with quiet dismay, two of her own sisters – were heeding the discussion. Heads were rising, and muscles were tensing.

"The idiot killed an unharmed man. He's a filthy murderer." Sokka said, with quiet acid. "You hear that, Jet? Just like you, as far as everyone here is concerned." His eyes speared her an instant. "Well, almost everyone."

"So don't come here telling me what to do. Your group is already loathed by the Resistance. Your man does that again, he hangs for murder." Sokka shrugged then, and made a dismissive gesture. "Now leave. I'm having a bad day, and talking to psychos just isn't high on my to-do list."

Suki saw Jet stiffen at that. She saw his eyes glower with rage and indignation. She could see what he was thinking: _That southern boy, that Fire Soldier-loving moron! He thinks he can dismiss me like this?!? _

Jet's hand strayed to one of his hooked swords, even as Sokka turned around. Quickly, Suki grabbed his hand, and withstood the angry look her sent her way. She needed Jet, but he wasn't the man who could make her heart beat faster. Sokka always retained a large place in her heart.

"Don't stop me." he hissed.

"You take out your swords, and you won't even make it one step before you're cut down." She said. They held each other's gaze a moment, and then Jet realized what was happening around them.

Usha had taken a graceful, ready stance, one hand ready to deal a steely attack, the other ready to Bend a fiery blast. But that wasn't all. All around them, warriors had gathered to defend their leader.

Earthbenders. Waterbenders. Refugees from the Earth Kingdom. Traitors to the Fire Nation. Members of Hakoda's old guerrilla group. All of them were prepared to attack the moment Jet made an aggressive move. Suki saw, to her sadness, that they took her in with the same pitiless stares. _I reap what I've sown._

"For Gaipan, I swore I'd someday have your head, monster." Usha said, nothing like the good-natured girl she'd taught fighting techniques to years ago. Her tone was one of relish, of angry preparedness. "Will it be today? Please make trouble here, and the promise Iroh forced me to swear won't save you from me anymore!"

Jet, for all of his delusions, all of his blind hatred, was not an idiot. She saw him relax a bit, and sighed in relief. He was relenting. The danger had passed, at least for now. She stared at Sokka's retreating back with a sorrow which threatened to consume her.

_Why can't you understand, Sokka? _She wanted to ask him. _Jet's nothing to me, you know that! He's a means to an end! His people move so much, they're the best way for me to find clues about my captured sisters! That's all! Why can't you understand?!?_

"It won't always be this way, Sokka!" Jet called angrily. "No one punishes my people but me!" Sokka continued walking down the camp, apparently not listening or caring. An appearance, of course, which irked Jet even more. He spat on the floor, gave Usha a look of disgust, and turned around.

"Lets go." He said, and walked back, head held high, swagger intact, confidence streaming from his being.

And Suki hesitated. A part of her wished to stay. To run after Sokka, to embrace him and mend the breach between them any way she could. Here was where she felt the most at home.

But Suki had a mission, something she'd vowed to complete. And more than that, she found that some, in Jet's group, were beginning to tire of the blind hate. Two of them, in particular. _I can save them, Sokka. I failed my sisters, but I'll save them from their fate! And I'll save those in Jet's group who can still be saved! If I don't… I…_

"I love him." She told the waiting Usha. "Tell Sokka that, okay?" And with that, Suki turned away, to follow Jet down his dark path a bit longer.


	5. Chapter Four

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Four**

The more Aang saw of the Fire Nation Soldiers, the more he wondered. It wasn't so much their attitude – he was accused of killing several of their people, so he expected a chill which wasn't in the wind.

It came from the way they held themselves, and in their uniform. Try as he might, the uniforms he remembered looked nothing like those, and the men all acted as if they were used to the situation presented to them.

The soldiers had bound Katara, and blindfolded her, which meant that she was led during the march, a Firebender holding one of her arms on each side. They treated her coldly, but looks from their captain stopped them from anything else.

Aang, himself, walked between the other two of the Firebenders – he had quickly seen the differences in uniform. One of them happened to be the burnt man, and Aang shied away from the ravaged face, not so much from the scars but from the hatred he felt there.

Aang was thoroughly confused. _This wasn't like that. The Fire Army… Gyatso told me it was just a defence force or something like that. _His friend, Kuzon, had told Aang as much on one of the young Airbender's tours of the Fire Nation.

Katara walked without a complaint, and her lips stayed tightly closed. She was unbound to be able to eat – always under the gaze of the two Firebenders – but never spoke to them. All he could see from her was a deep sullenness he couldn't explain.

Appa had come with them, of course. The Air Bison would have it no other way, and Aang had no intention of going anywhere without his old buddy. Although the beast made his men nervous, Captain Xankou had agreed. _He looked at me weirdly then, like… like seeing Appa meant something. _

All of this bothered Aang, and it only heightened when they arrived at the outpost. Built on a jutting, flat rock surface, walls of wood had been built, with a sturdy gate blocking the only entrance. Inside were several structures, similar to what he'd seen when he'd visited the Fire Nation's capital and had a look at its barracks.

There were several soldiers there, as well as a few more Firebenders. And there, anchored a what appeared to be a very small port, was a monstrous ship, arrayed with iron. Aang couldn't help but gape at the monstrosity, at its long, dark shape. At its fearsome aspect. _Kuzon never talked about those, either._

Aang couldn't understand much recently, but he understood one thing clearly: this wasn't the small defence force he'd been taught about, and that ship wasn't a simple patrol ship. Everything he saw spoke of conflict, of violence and especially of war.

He would have gone to talk to Xankou, but the two men guarding him clamped on his shoulders painfully. Appa, looking distraught, growled at this treatment. Aang couldn't help but glare at that as he winced.

"Look, I'm not trying to run away or anything!" he huffed, "I just want to…"

"Silence!" the scarred Firebender muttered. "Where do we take them, Captain? To the ship?"

Xankou seemed to consider that, then nodded. "Yes, take them to the cells. And keep a close watch on them. I don't want the boy harmed in any way. The Waterbender… make sure she doesn't make trouble before I can see the ship's captain about this."

With that, the captain made his way to the largest building, where the Fire Nation Banner was hung. Appa growled again – the food had been minimal on the trip, and the Air Bison was hungry. Many men edged away from Aang's companion, and many gripped weapons. Aang's heart leapt to his throat when he saw several exchanging glances.

"Don't hurt Appa!" he cried, "He's just hungry! He won't hurt you, just give him a bit of food!" _I can't lose Appa! If he gets them mad, they'll kill him, look at them! He's the only friend I've got right now!_

"Bah, just a beast." The scarred man rumbled. But the Firebender beside him whispered something about 'prize' and 'Ozai' and 'Emperor's Favour', words with little meaning to Aang. But it made the scarred man's curse, and finally – reluctantly – order some men to bring some horse fodder to the Bison.

Aang sighed in relief, only to spot Katara being led away towards one of the smaller buildings. She refused to talk, but Aang, who could see her, saw a change to her face. Her shoulders seemed to stiffen, and her mouth twisted as if something especially sour was in her mouth.

"What… what are you doing?" Aang asked worriedly.

At that moment, a soldier, garbed in the way which – to Aang's limited experience – seemed to be what officers wore, walked to the Firebenders quickly, and spoke to them quickly. The Avatar strained to hear, but all he could get was that it was an argument of some kind.

Whatever the argument was, Aang was definitely certain that the officer won it handily, given that the two seemed to relax their grip on the blindfolded Katara. The officer then took out a sort of stone vial, and held it to Katara's mouth. She clearly refused to open her mouth.

That wasn't something one did, Aang realized worriedly, even as the Firebenders held her firmly, while the officer took hold of her chin, forced her mouth open, and dumped the contents in Katara's mouth, closing it and keeping his hand on her mouth. She was promptly forced to swallow, then coughed when they released her.

Aang felt sick. This wasn't how the Fire soldiers acted, from what he'd been told. This was too brutal. It lacked the honour that the Fire Nation had always prided itself on having.

"What did you do to her?" He found himself asking, bewildered. It was, as always, the burnt man who answered, his voice filled with wicked glee.

"Just something to keep her quiet while we leave the harbour. We don't want her Waterbending while we leave." He sneered. "Those barbarians of the Southern Water Tribe, living in their ice-made huts. That one of their crazed women would look down at us…" The man spat on the ground at that, in sheer disgust.

Aang looked at Katara, who was being led away still, now seemingly dragging her feet, and a thought crossed the reluctant new Avatar's mind: _Kuzon, what's happened to your people?_

_And why do I feel I've made a huge mistake in all this? _

* * *

Zuko was walking through lands he didn't know. His senses were dulled, and his being seemed heavy, but what truly frightened him were the sights and sounds which accosted him.

Strange trees, twisted yet possessing a strange beauty, stood about with strangely-coloured bushes and vines, to form a woodland which he could never have seen, and yet for which something in his soul stirred.

_I've seen this place before. _He thought, gripping his blades. Suddenly, he heard a bristling sound. No, not bristling. A queer sound, like the sound of a great many feet. It came from nearby. He was in front of a tree. A great tree, with stone markings. He saw there was a hole, a cave of some sort, at the base of the tree. The noise came from there.

A feeling of dread suffused Zuko's entire being, even as fog clung to his ankles. _There's something down there, _his soul seemed to scream, _something you can't look at, or you're doomed! _And then he heard a voice, deep and mocking, coming from the depths.

"Why do you linger at the doorstep? Come down, proud Prince. You want to save someone dear to you, and I can help you." The voice suggested. It was a frightening voice, yet enticing. "Come down, and I'll share the wisdom the shadows give."

Zuko took a step forward, almost against his will. There was power in that voice, and power was something he'd always respected. And knowledge, he knew, was a form of power. He took a step into the darkness, and heard the noise of approaching feet. Many men.

_Not many men… something else. Something there, waiting for me. _he realized, and then it dawned on him. _A nest. A spider's nest. That's the sound behind the voice! A spider, and I'm the fly._

"I am Zuko, son of Firelord Ozai, grandson of Firelord Azulon and heir to the Throne of the Fire Nation!" He spoke, and his voice grew in strength. "An I'll find my knowledge my own way!" He shouted down into the darkness. Nothing stirred. Zuko turned away, and marched back, through the fog.

The voice slithered after him, not angry, but seemingly amused at his defiance. "So you say, little Prince. But you'll need my help one day. Oh yes, you'll all need my help one day. And you'll pay the price I set." Then, a garish chuckle, followed by silence.

_Never. Whatever you are, never. _He vowed, and kept on walking, away from the tree, into the fog. _Whatever this dream is, it better stop, I'm starting to really dislike it. _Still, something inside him wondered if it was really a dream.

He saw someone through the fog, coming in his direction. He crouched, grasping his swords, at the ready, but was unprepared when a young, bald boy stepped nearby, seemingly as lost as Zuko felt.

The boy was dressed with a strange, yellow and orange outfit, and had large arrows tattooed on his head and his arms. There was something familiar about the look, the clothes. It reminded him vaguely of the Airbenders of old.

Then the boy noticed him, his eyes widening as they stared at each other, silently. Then the boy spoke, his voice confused, innocent and – to the prince's ears – filled with naiveté.

"Who are you?" he asked in a high, vibrant voice, quirking slender eyebrows. "You're not from the people on the ship, are you? What's this place?"

Zuko opened his mouth to answer – what he was about to say escaped him, but he felt obliged to say something to this strange one, perhaps because he felt something in himself. _That kid's important. Just like that voice in the darkness was something best ignored. I don't have the slightest idea why I know that but, damn, my guts keep telling me this._

Before he could utter any sound, however, there was a tremor. Turning around, Zuko felt himself grow faint with fright, as a gigantic wave approached him. On the top of the wave were ships, and within, in its midst, a fight. A fish larger than a mountain. The prince was speechless, and barely had the conscience to even raise his arms before the wave hit him…

Zuko sat up with a start, his mind still reeling of the last images. He looked about him and, instead of seeing the strange landscape, instead of being submerged by water, he saw himself in his old quarters, on the ship which had served him well for many years.

_I nodded off. _He told himself irritably. That he'd been working with little sleep over the past several days were meaningless. To fall asleep while on duty was a weakness he loathed to indulge in. _Still, what a dream. And that water wave at the end. And that boy. So vivid, all of it._

Frustrated, he hoped off his bed, putting on his boots and walking out of his quarters, fully intent on taking a walk outside to get some fresh air. As he left he nearly bumped into lieutenant Jee the acting captain of the ship, who seemed just about to knock.

"Prince Zuko." The man fumbled a moment. "Ah…I was coming to see you sir."

"So I've noticed." He said more acidly than he intended. Realizing what he'd said, he softened his voice. "Everything going well up there?"

"Yes, highness. The weather's been perfect, and we've made far better time than expected. But there's something you need to know."

"And that is?" Zuko began to walk towards the nearest door. He felt he needed the fresh air more than ever.

"We've come upon a ship. From our navy. It'll pass close to us."

Zuko stopped, and whirled about, his eyes narrowed. "A ship? On the water? Coming towards us?"

"Yes." Jee said, crossing his arms. "Luckily, were near a small island, and we might pass unnoticed if we're careful. I just wanted you to know, Your Highness."

Zuko nodded absently, barely noticing the man beginning to leave. Then, slowly, he smirked. He was reminded of something his uncle had told him years ago: _The Spirits speak to us in strange ways, in dreams and omens. They can be a difficult bunch, really._

The fish in the water. The boy. The ships. It was all to tell him something. Zuko had once been an unbeliever where spirits were concerned, but the past decade had forced him to consider such things seriously. The dream was too vivid, he now saw. _Is this something you've sent me, Tui? Or is it you, La? What do you want me to do?_

"Lieutenant?" he called the other man mildly. The man stopped and turned in curiosity. "Tell me, just how close will that ship pass?"

* * *

Ty Lee wasn't a coward. It was actually hard to be one, when one could fight Benders who had mastered their arts with one's feet and fists. Many considered her the finest fighter in Ba Sing Se. Although she knew better than think that no one could surpass her, Ty Lee knew she was damn good at what she did.

But she wasn't a fool, either. Going through the immense city's outer ring's streets in the garments of the Empire – even stylized ones – was the kind of stunt which could get anyone killed.

Her looks were less clearly of the old blood of the Fire Clans, so she could pass for an Earth Kingdom woman if she dressed the part. And so she did, wearing the yellows, browns and greens of the realm she had helped defeat.

_Four years doing this, _she thought with some mirth, _but I still get the chills when I'm around here. _

Whereas the Inner Ring was completely controlled by the Empire, and the Middle Ring had more than sufficient patrols to keep dissidents under control, the Outer Ring was another story. It was impossible to keep enough troops in to completely quell it.

Each week, there was a small revolt, with two or three big ones each year. None of them were organized, and all of them were put down quickly. Yet they still kept coming, no matter what.

The problem was that Azula was getting tired. Ty Lee had read the signs. She'd seen the heir to the Empire arranging to have many troops around the city. She was looking for a way for the Outer Ring to rise up again.

_And then, _Ty Lee thought with the dismay she worked hard never to show, _Azula'll use that as an excuse for tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of Firebenders to scour the Outer Ring. She'll kill a large part of the city as a lesson to the rest._

That was Azula. That was the way she had always fought: decisively, and ruthlessly. And Ty Lee would be damned if she let it happen while she could do something about it. Thus, her presence in the Outer Ring, and her entering a run-down tea shop called the Slashed Leaf. She giggled – the name had always sounded funny to her ears.

There were few patrons in the place. Given that it was the middle of the day, and most people were at work, it made sense. Although the shop had never been particularly busy. It had never tried to be, either.

Two of the patrons – young ones, she saw – leered at her curvaceous body, which the clothes couldn't quite hide. Ty Lee smiled, and gave a smile while showing her hand in a slow salute.

The two men quickly averted their gaze. Not because her smile had been threatening, but because they'd seem her hand. Although slender, it was leathery, and filled with calluses and a myriad of small scars, as well as remnants of broken veins.

One didn't get hands like that, in the Outer Ring, without some good reason. Those were the hands of a dangerous person to them. Which was perfect, since Ty Lee was a very dangerous person indeed, and both knew as well as hated it.

She went to the bar, and approached the bearded, apron-wearing man with the same grace she had cultivated all her life. The man looked at her neutrally as she came about and settled her hands on the counter.

"Hello there!" she said brightly. "I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for some rare tea herbs. I heard you had some here."

"This here's a tea shop, lady." The man answered gruffly. "Try one of the herbalist shops."

"Yeah, I know, but I figured I'd try my luck. Its Blue Swan Weed. Have any?"

The man looked at her with a dark look. "Does it look like I'd have that here?" he snorted, "Go home, lady, or order real tea. Whichever you want."

Ty Lee sighed, but gave a pout at the man. "You sure you don't have any? 'Cause a friend of mine said you fixed him some the other day."

"Spirits Above!" the man growled, "Come on! I'll show you the reserves myself. Then you'll leave me alone!" He stepped towards a door to the side, and slid it open roughly, pointing inside. Shrugging, Ty Lee entered.

The gruff man slid the door shut, and gave her an even darker look. "Are you crazy? Coming here like that? This'll get you discovered. Not that I care, but it'd get US discovered, too!"

Ty Lee put her hands up. She had no time for this. Even she had a limited time and leeway. Azula was no fool. If she delayed too much, or disappeared too long, she might be in real danger. _Sucks, really, but this is important._

"Can't be helped. I need you to send a message though the underground. Today, and quick." All the mirth and amusement in her voice was gone. She felt fear, but also a sort of ferocious joy at what she was doing. "I need the message to reach Bumi himself."

"Bumi?" The man grunted, his black eyes narrowing a bit, while the lips under the beard grew taut. "She's stepping it up, is she?"

"You betcha. We thought we had at least a season, but we'll be lucky if we get a month before she starts trouble."

The man looked at her, looking almost angry then he bared his feet and stamped the ground, opening the ground perfectly, revealing stairs leading down. The Earthbending officer-turned Resistance fighter gave her a grim nod. "Alright, I'll get it through tonight, somehow." Another stamp, and the hole closed. The sandals were back on.

"Hope you're happy. Now leave me alone, lady." He grunted as they left the storage area. Ty Lee gave a grin and shrugged.

"Hey, I just thought you might have some. My mistake. Sorry, sorry!" she said sweetly, and left, waving, ignoring his muttered curses. She took a moment to take in the many people outside. The hatred. The poverty. The life.

_I don't mind risking it all if it's worth it, _she thought. _So, Bumi, Sokka, Zuko… I hope you can stop this. Or it'll be the Air Temples all over again. And our people are bloodied enough in my taste. Sucks to be you, but I'll leave it up to you!_

Grinning again despite the terrible times, Ty Lee resume her way back to her friend and master, ready to play the terrible hound, but also ready to aid those who would stop that same master. _Oh yeah. Life sucks. But its so darn interesting these days! _

* * *

The war had done many things to many people, Sokka knew. For himself, the young water tribesman had lost his mother at a young age, and his father during a later skirmish. He had left his home and perhaps lost the respect he had there.

He always wondered why Hakoda had wanted him to succeed at the head of the group, and he had wondered why the others had accepted his rise to the leadership. But that was something he couldn't afford to think about these days.

So, he had laid the situation on the table to his lieutenants, all the while knowing that he was perhaps making a grave mistake. They had reacted in the way he had expected them to.

"Well, that's a problem." Bato said. Of all of them, he was the oldest. He had been fighting in a resistance-like movement for longer than any of them, and he was highly respected for it.

Sangok was a striking picture of how the horrors of war could change a man. He had, been, from what Sokka had heard from Yueh and other Waterbenders, a mediocre Bender, put down even by his own master, and with no ambition.

But the battle of the Northern Water Tribes Capital had changed all that. He had been abandoned by his comrades, and captured by the Fire Nation, and he had been interrogated and tortured. It had been lucky that Iroh had set free several prisoners before fleeing in Zuko's ship.

He had been scarred physically – there were marks and scars which would never fade – but mentally as well. Today, Sangok was a powerful, ruthless Waterbender, unflinchingly dedicated to bringing down Ozai's regime.

Len used to be the son of a merchant, until his father had been killed by the Fire Nation for refusing to pay a certain fee. He now led the Earthbenders, and also used what he'd learned from merchants to keep track of events.

"A mole." Usha mused. Of all of them, she wasn't supposed to be there. But, in Zuko's absence, she was the best choice to represent the few Fire people in the group. "And no proof on anyone."

"We can't start suspecting people randomly, either." Bato mused, then uttered something which had certainly crossed everyone's mind. "For all we know, the mole's one of us here. Best be careful."

"Just give me a few weeks, I'll find that traitor and have its head on a pike." Sangok rumbled from his position near the habitation's door. Light barely filtered in, giving the interior a cool, damp feel, and the lamp Sokka had alighted gave off a demonic edge to the man's troubled, grim face.

"We don't have weeks." Len urged, eyebrows raised. "There's been a lot of commissions from the Fire Army to smiths and armourers. Mercenary guilds, too. There's movement, and we can't afford to just stand here while the enemy's doing something!"

"But if we do," Usha noted, "And the mole tips them off…" She fell silent at that, and the others found nothing to refute what she'd just imparted. Then they looked at Sokka after a moment.

Sokka hated these moments. He'd initially dreamed to be a warrior and a fisherman. He'd wanted to marry a cute Water Tribe girl, settle down, and start a family. He'd then teach his own children the tricks of fighting and fishing. That had been his dream.

So he disliked being there, being the one in charge. He'd grown to get used to the stares and the expectations, used to the fact they all thought he's make the right call. But he'd never liked it one bit. If the war ended one day, and he'd survive it, this would be something he wouldn't miss.

He coughed, crossed his arms, then scratched his head. Finally, he sighed. "This is too big for me alone." He decided. "The mole's something that'll affect the entire Resistance. The least I can do is tell the old man."

Sangok shook his head at the thought, Len sighed, and Bato gave a wry grin. They all knew who he was thinking about, and their reaction, although not born out of disrespect, were clearly born out of irritation.

"Oh, I'm not going over there." Bato muttered, "I respect the man's ability, and I admit he's probably the strongest Earthbender out there, but that man's just plain crazy sometimes!"

"Sometimes?" Len snorted in amusement, eyes twinkling. "He's insane, because he likes to be insane. He likes to be this way. That's his way of having fun."

"Come on, guys." Sokka mused with a half-smile. "He's there when it counts, and that all that matters." Three snorts resounded. Only Usha seemed a bit lost at the sudden banter between them. Sokka reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. "Guess you're coming with me."

"Yes, sir. But… who?" she asked.

"The craziest Earthbender in the Earth Kingdom." Len muttered, but there was a touch of definite respect, even awe, when he said it. "The former King of Omashu. Ring a bell there, Usha?"

"Oh, King Bumi!" Usha exclaimed, then she frowned. "Why… do you keep talking about him that way?"

Chuckles resounded at that, even from Sangok, as the other three lieutenants took their leave, leaving an amused Sokka and an annoyed Usha behind. She finally gave her leader a stare which reminded the former fisherman of Zuko's imperious looks, which only made the man smile wider.

"I don't get it." she all but huffed. He shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry. You will soon enough, oh you bet!" he exclaimed, and shooed her out to prepare her gear. This was necessary, and serious. But, when it came to Bumi, it was never something you could think forward without some resigned mirth.

* * *

Katara looked up at the cell in front of hers when Aang suddenly sat up with a gasp. His eyes were wide and unseeing, and for a moment he appeared to be entirely elsewhere. Looking at the bars and the bear necessities they'd been given, she really envied him that.

Of course, that was before something stubborn in herself reminded her that she was there because of his foolish acts. This made her irritation come back to the fore, and she tried hard not to notice the youth. She was being childish, she knew, and yet couldn't help it.

"T-that was…" Aang gasped, then seemed to recognize his surroundings. He wiped his brow, sighing in relief. "Thank the Spirits… just a weird dream."

He gave her a smile and a wave when he spotted her, and it was so cheerful that she almost returned it. Almost. There were two things in which Katara had always been far better than her brother – Waterbending, and being stubborn. _And Spirits am I tired of it sometimes._

His smile faltered, and he shook his head. He seemed to ponder what to say. They'd been at sea, in these bare, windowless cells, being illuminated by lamps, for five days. Katara, however, had only been aware of the last four. More fuel for her anger.

"I had the weirdest dream." He suddenly said. "I was in a place where… its hard to describe… it was a place I'd never seen before, but it was so real. More real than any dream I'd ever seen. Know what I mean?"

"No. I'm not sure I care, either." _Plain childish there. You're twenty-five, young lady, act it! _It sounded so much like her mother that she was startled. She sighed. She fully realized it was the truth, too.

Aang's frown was one of rising irritation and confusion. She'd always heard that the Airbenders had been some of the most patient beings on the planet. The young man, however, was twelve, and his twelve years' worth of wisdom and patience were wearing thin.

"You're still mad?" he sighed, but there was enervation in the youthful, piping voice. "Look, I know you don't like what I did, but what was I suppose to do!"

"YOU were supposed to help ME fight THEM." She growled, and was further infuriated by his surprised look. Why didn't he get it? _Is it really… nah, can't be!_

"Why would I do that?" He wondered. "The Fire Nation isn't my enemy, Katara!"

"Yes, Aang, they are my enemy, your enemy, the enemy of everyone NOT of the Fire Nation's!" She muttered. The two guards looked up from their game, but she didn't care. She was incensed with this child now.

"What does that mean?!? What did the Fire Nation do?" he all but snapped. He was getting angry, too, she could see. _Good! Whether you're the Avatar or not, kid or not, I want it out._

"First, its not the Fire Nation anymore. They've called it the Fire Empire for the last five years." She snapped. He looked stunned, but she continued. "And what they did? They scattered the Southern Water Tribes. I heard they destroyed the Northern Water Tribes' capital, and they've all but conquered the Earth Kingdom!"

"W-what?" he seemed to be having trouble taking it in. She didn't care. She started, and she was going to finish.

"They took out the Air Nomads, too!" she snapped, while something told her to shut UP, to think it through. But it was too late. "You're helping those who destroyed your OWN people!"

"LIAR!!" he growled, and the air began to whip around the young man. It lashed out, awaiting the Airbender's command. The guards stood up and began to make their way quickly to them. "You're a liar! I was at the Southern Air Temple only five days ago! There's no way we wouldn't have known of an attack by then!"

Katara blinked. There was no deception in that young, angry face. The rebuke was honest. _But the Southern Air Temple… everyone knows it was destroyed and abandoned over a century ago! There's stories about it! So unless he's really good at faking, then that means that… Spirits… that he's from…_

Her thoughts, the approaching guards, the tense confrontation with Aang suddenly became far less important, as an explosion sounded, followed by another. Katara lost balance, fell on her rear, and grabbed her bunk for support. Aang did relatively the same. Insanely, she wondered if the Air Bison, kept on the deck, had been hurt. She dismissed the idle thought as another explosion shot through the ship.

"What going on?!?" She asked through gritted teeth as she fought to keep her balance. She her cries from the upper decks, nothing coherent, but she could tell that people were scattering in all direction. Suddenly, there were sounds of things being shot, and far-off explosions. Someone came from above.

"Enemy raid!" the man said breathlessly. "Keep watch on the prisoners!" and with that, he was gone, leaving the two nervous guards. Katara couldn't believe it: an actual raid? Here?

"The dream. I see, I get it!" Aang said, as if everything was explained to him. "So that's what it meant… that guy… the waves… the ships…"

"What are you raving about, Aang?" She snapped as another explosion tore through. He gave her what was almost a triumphant look, or a condescending one. In the flickering light, it was hard to tell.

"You'll see, I guess." Was all he said. And he looked up, expectantly.

_Great! _She thought, _I'm going to drown surrounded by enemies, and he thinks everything'll work out! Avatar or not, he's crazy! _And she held on to dear life as the boat moved.

And the battle continued to rage outside.


	6. Chapter Five

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Five**

Zuko had been taught well. His tutors had been the best as a youth, although his father had soon stopped taking interest in him, since he was much slower at learning Firebending than his prodigal sister. Still, he had learned well.

After Ozai's coronation, however, his uncle Iroh had taken a deep interest in Zuko, and had begun to teach him himself. After his exile, he had continued to learn, to expand his abilities. He had soon learned things about himself and Azula.

His sister favoured honing a technique to its highest level. Zuko knew he didn't have the mindset for it. What he had found to be good at, however, was diversity instead of refinement. Since Firebending was in his opinion one of the strongest Bending talents, and the strongest in general attack power, aggressiveness gave him an edge. In battle, one had to use every such advantage.

Zuko's ship had attacked the enemy's engines before they could be spotted, had advanced upon them before the enemy ship could manoeuvre. They had boarded it quickly, using their experience at raiding Imperial Fleet ships, and had then encountered stiff resistance.

The prince and his men took the men by storm. He had no real intention of fully winning the fight, but the disgraced prince of the Fire Nation had never given anything but a full battle to enemies. After his scarring, he'd learned never to expect quarter.

His dual blades were out, and he waded into the enemy soldiers with controlled abandon. Fear, hesitation, questioning – none of that mattered anymore. He began to control his breathing to better merge his Firebending with every strike his blades dealt.

A man came at him, launching a stream of fire. Whirling around, Zuko focused fire to his foot, catching the stream and knocking it aside, away from the deck and into the sea, even as he whirled closer, bringing his foot to the man's abdomen, and slashing a deep wound with one blade as he did. The enemy Firebender fell, out of the fight.

As he recovered his balance, another soldier struck at him with a pike. Zuko managed to bring his other blade to meet the assault, turning the strike away, unbalancing the enemy, bringing him forward, where Zuko knocked him out with the flat of his other blade.

There were more enemies. A soldier there. Then another. Then a Firebender. Each time, Zuko rushed to meet the challenge. Each time he met and defeated an opponent, he felt a dark surge of joy. It was one he controlled, but which he couldn't help but feel.

The young man had found something else as his skills rose: he liked fighting. In that way, he was like his sister. It was that realization, more than anything else, which worked towards forcing Zuko to temper his methods. He didn't kill unless he absolutely had to.

_The fight's not important. _He told himself. _There's something about this ship. It was in the dream. A secret… a person? _The din of battle reminded him that time was short. His people held the upper hand, but it could change quickly. Zuko pressed on, until he entered the ship and proceeded below deck.

He made his way towards the deepest levels of the ship, where cells were always located. He wasn't surprised when Jee found himself helping him fight his way down. His former lieutenant gave him a grin: he, too, felt the rush of battle.

"Five minutes, then we pull out." Zuko muttered to his subordinate. Jee nodded in comprehension. This was likely as long as the crew could maintain the enemy off-guard. They found a hatch, opened it.

Two men were waiting there, looking more scared than anything. They hesitated upon seeing Zuko. The prince never thought about a plan. He jumped down, landed, sprung up, and came at them.

The two men were good soldiers, but Zuko and Jee quickly held the advantage, and while the former lieutenant continued to exchange blows with his own opponent, the prince quickly sped through the cells. As it was, two of them occupied.

The one on his right was occupied by a woman who, by her brown skin and blue garments, screamed 'Water Tribes' she was starting in disbelief. Zuko barely noticed her. His eyes were fixed upon the other cell, or rather its occupant.

He immediately recognized the boy. _That's him… that's him! _He shouted inwardly. _The boy from that dream! But the markings, the clothes… they're…_

"An Airbender…" he gasped, something in his mind reeling with that, old pains and old hopes revisited. For his part, the boy seemed just as stunned, but also seemed to have been all but waiting for this rescue.

"Yeah." The boy said, "I'm Aang, from the Southern Temple. I…I somehow knew you'd come."

"And I somehow knew you'd be here." Zuko then shook off the eerie feeling taking hold of him, regaining control. "We can talk later! Lets get out of here before they regroup and bottle us up!"

A bit of heating with Firebending, and a few quick strikes, and the lock was shattered. Zuko then turned his attention to the other occupant, even as the boy ran towards the guards' post. As Zuko opened the door to her cell, the woman seemed to look like he'd grown another head.

"You're a Firebender…" she began wonderingly, then her eyes hardened, "Why are you…"

"We don't have time for that!" Jee all but shouted. "Can you hear the fighting outside. We need to pull out. This ship is slower than ours, but its crew is larger! We need to go!"

"Then lets do that!" The boy said at once. He had acquired a staff of some sort. "Can you help me get to the deck again? They're holding my Air Bison in a cage! If we can help him, I swear you won't regret it!"

"Aang, he's…" The woman began earnestly. Aang turned his head towards her, his face both irritated and hopeful. It seemed there was some strain between the two. Zuko couldn't guess what it could be.

"He's okay, Katara!" He then looked at Zuko again, and the prince was thrown by the open trust on the youthful face. _So rare, these days. So damn rare. _"Can you help me, please?"

Zuko looked at Jee. The man shrugged. The prince gave a self-depreciating snort, then sighed.

"An Air Bison… I heard stories. It can fly, right? It could fly us away and allow us to bother these men while my people evacuated to my ship?" _Please let me be right!_

"Yup, Appa sure can do that!" Aang said empathically. "And more!"

_Good. Maybe this weird trip isn't a dead-end for all of us. _"Lets go then, Airbender! I lead, you follow, you keep your glaring friend quiet, and we'll save that beast of yours!" Zuko grunted. He almost felt like grinning. Almost.

* * *

Ty Lee wandered through the halls of the Earth King's Palace, admiring the architecture. While the Fire Nation's own buildings were somewhat more elaborate, they were also more gilded, yet poorer in some senses.

The Palace was far larger than the Firelord's castle, and also had a far longer history. The Earth Kingdom was Ba Sing Se in many ways, and had been founded over two millennia beforehand. Compared to that, the Fire Tribes had unified into a nation only six centuries ago.

_Walking through the ages, its both fun and boring,_ she reflected. _I'd rather be doing shows at the circus. _It was a mournful thought – Azula had certainly cut off any possibilities of that. And Ty Lee didn't want to put the Circus people in danger of either Azula's or the Resistance's wrath.

Ty Lee stopped before a statues depicting, from the inscription, the twenty-third Earth King, who had begun the construction of the many walls which had made the capital nigh-impregnable for centuries. She was looking with faint interest when she heard someone approach. She recognized who it was long before she spoke.

"Admiring statues? So NOT like you, Ty Lee!" Azula glided over, in the red, gold-trimmed, practical outfit which made her both attractive and menacing, while allowing her very practical ease of movement. Behind her, in impressive battle regalia, two Royal Firebenders – the cream of the Empire's Bender forces – stood at silent attention.

Ty Lee mocked their worth in a place like this. As far as assassinations with poison, Azula had tasters and other methods. And as for physical threats and possible abductions, their presence was simply for appearance's sake. Azula, by herself, was worth a dozen Master Firebenders.

_They don't get it. Well, Zuko does, and maybe Sokka. But the others, no._ Ty Lee thought as she gave off her brightest grin. _They keep thinking she slips, or lets her guard down. They don't know her: Azula never lets her guard down, and she's always prepared._

"This place gets boring _fast,_ Azula! I wish there'd be some real entertainment around here!" she griped good naturedly. The Crown Princess of the Empire laughed at that, and put an arm around the athletic noblewoman's shoulders, laughing merrily. For a moment, she almost seemed like the friend she had once been. Ty Lee didn't trust the impression anymore, however.

"You're so right, there!" Azula said, a gleam to her eyes. "But there'll be more fun coming. We've got the Blind Bandit secured, and she'll eventually tell us all we know about the Resistance. And then there's stamping out the city's rebels, and then…"

She stopped then, but she had let slip something. Not unintentionally. Never unintentionally. The acrobat had grown up around, fought besides, and carefully worked against Azula for most of her life. Azula didn't let things slip, she just gave hints.

"Well, those things are still off. Let's stop dreaming too much, shall we?" the raven-haired, golden-eyed woman stated, the gleam in her eyes increasing. "But, hey, I've got something you should see that'll take off the edge out of your boredom!"

They made their way through the halls, and eventually entered one of the many sheltered, open parks which was once used to cater to the Earth King's needs. Every tree, bush and flower had been removed, though, and replaced by a more ghastly showing.

Ty Lee had seen many battles and horrors before, yet she had to fight back a wave of nausea as she saw the decapitated heads of two dozen men and women, all neatly arrayed on pikes, as if for a parade. Azula continued to show her around, leading her gently but firmly.

"I know you don't really like those things," she admitted, "But anything's better than staring at boring, centuries-old pieces of stone and brass! Wanna know who these people were?"

She did, yet didn't. Unease increased in her stomach. "Traitors?" she ventured. Azula shook her head, as if slightly disappointed.

"Not really. Spies, mostly. There's nothing I hate more than people spying on me." She nudged Ty Lee to walk to the end of the line of heads, and lifted a finger towards the one in clear satisfaction. "Take this one, for example."

The acrobatic fighter felt more than her blood turn to ice. It took everything she had not to faint and thoroughly betray herself as she saw the shocked-looking head. It was the head of the gruff Earthbender which she had warned of Azula's timetable not so long ago.

Azula leaned closer and gently murmured in her ear. "That one tried to get a message outside. Can you imagine? He thought my Dai Li agents wouldn't see him. A message about the little bit of cleaning I want to do in this city."

The young woman who would have nearly gleefully charged a hundred Earthbenders now fought to control the terror roiling in her being. She didn't miss the implications of her former friend and present leader's words.

_I'm a damned idiot, _she told herself as she fought for composure. _I thought I was being clever. But I did the same as so many people. I forgot Azula's way: always prepared, never letting down her guard. Not even to those she considers friends._

"That sure beats an old statue." She managed. She was glad that her voice didn't crack, or betray her in any way. _What are you waiting for? Are you playing with me? Or are you waiting for something else?_

Azula gave a giggle as she pulled Ty Lee away from the sun-beaten, rotting heads. "Doesn't it? And, I'll give you a secret: the fun's just beginning. You'll see." She added.

Keeping her emotions in check, keeping the terror away, she let Azula lead her back to the castle, mentally preparing her body. She was, she knew, one of the best fighters in the Empire. It was one thing she actually took pride on.

Soon, she felt, very soon, she was probably going to have to test the limits of that very highly praise fighting finesse and power.

* * *

Aang looked out from the ship's main deck as it sped forward, the waters rushing past and into the infinite, small waves clashing against the ship as it continued on its way. It allowed Aang time to think in peace, something he hadn't truly been allowed ever since he'd come to after the storm.

It had been nearly two days since he and Katara had been rescued by the scarred captain of the little ship, and less than one before they'd lost the pursuit. It was nice, Aang thought, to finally have some time to sort through things.

He looked around him, at the metal ship, with what they called an 'engine', with a shape strange to his eyes, and tried to remember the Fire ships as he recalled them. _Wooden, _he thought, _they had some metal plating, but they were largely wooden. They didn't have something like this back then._

Back then. Those two words were increasingly frightening to Aang. The Airbender had looked, and had seen different uniforms, different mindsets, and different emotions from what he'd been thought about the world by his teacher and inspiration, Elder Gyatso.

It meant two things to him: One, that Gyatso had lied about everything. This was an explanation he rejected at once. Gyatso, he was sure, had cared for him. He wouldn't have lied so completely. _No way. And that leaves…_

_What does it leave? _He thought miserably. He wished he was in Appa's place for a moment. The Bison, once awaken and past the initial moments, had taken everything with a stride, sleeping on deck or flying off to find himself dinner. Aang, to his chagrin, didn't have that luxury.

"I often came to this place, myself." Came a rough voice, steely and yet not devoid of kindness. Aang looked to see the Firebender named Zuko – a prince to judge by the others on the ship – walking towards him and setting his elbows on the railing, looking out the sea himself.

He was at the Avatar's right, which meant that his face showed only the weathered profile of a young, handsome man with short back hair cut for combat. The great scars which covered a large part of the other side were undetectable

"I liked coming here when it was too much." The man, tall, imposing, and yet not threatening, continued, "When I felt it was too much to take. My Uncle always found me then. Always gave me the encouragement I needed to… press on."

There was a sad, wistful way in the way he said it which convinced the young monk that this 'Uncle' had since then departed. Conflicted with his own doubts, he said nothing, and the man noticed the silence.

"I was a different man once," he mused, "I started off as a naïve youth, ready to fight for my nation, ready to protect my people. And then, when this," his hand reached for the other side of his face, "happened, I became a man driven by only one goal. That goal was… the only life I felt I had, the only chance to regain happiness."

Aang was fascinated by this, by the pain and frustration the man conveyed. He grasped his staff a bit, and then asked the obvious question. "What was that goal you had?"

Zuko looked down at Aang, revealing a bit of his scarred side, before returning his gaze to the sea. He seemed to be searching for a good way to say what he thought, gripping the rails a bit harder as he did.

"My quest… was to capture the Avatar." He mused, his eyes never leaving Aang's.

The monk couldn't help it. Faced with the statement, with the strong, imperious stare, he flinched. He took a half-step back, unsure of what he wanted to do, and unsure of what he COULD do. The moment passed quickly, as the man seemed to sigh inaudibly.

"I'd never have even considered I was chasing a child. Actually I don't even think I would have cared. Time changes people I guess." He gave what Aang assumed to be a chuckle. "Its fate, and good luck, that you fall in my lap now instead of back then, Avatar."

"I'm…" Aang began to deny that he was the Avatar, and then stopped. _He's convinced I'm the Avatar. Why? And why does asking that question scare me like that? _"Why do you think I'm the Avatar?"

"You're either the Avatar, or you're the first Airbender reported in over a century." Zuko mused, "Either way, you're a walking myth."

If the world had swallowed him then, the boy would have never noticed. The words, told mildly, as if it was natural – and, a side of him exclaimed, perhaps it was – telling him something so impossible, and yet so genuine in the way it was said.

"T-that's not possible." He laughed nervously. "There's hundreds of monks at my temple alone. And that's the Southern Air Temple. The Western Air Temple was even bigger!"

Zuko looked at Aang with eyes where surprise and a rising – frightening – awareness were clear to see. He seemed speechless and grim, as if he thought the monk mad. _Katara was saying that because she was angry. He's saying that because he doesn't know._

"Now that we've lost pursuit, I intend to continue on my main mission." The man said at length. "I'm going to rescue a friend, and I need to go to the Southern Air Temple to do it. Why don't you come with me? I might need you, and you'll find out the truth for yourself."

"You bet!" Aang said almost angrily. _There's no way this is true. They're making a mistake. The Elders fooled them somehow! _

Zuko nodded, as if it closed the discussion, then left, his light, graceful steps echoing on the metal floor. The one who had been told only a few weeks before of his tenure as the Avatar watched him go.

_It's a lie, _he told himself firmly, _it's a trick. Or its just a plain bad joke. There's no way things have changed that much. No way!_

Yet, when he remembered Katara's angry eyes, and Zuko's calm, almost pitying ones, he wondered if that was the way it was. Was it a lie, a trick, a bad joke? Or was he simply not willing to see reality? The possibility was there.

Then and there, more than anywhere else in this strange journey, was where Aang truly began to feel terror grip him.

* * *

Sokka took hold of the bandit's arm, twisted it, and pivoted in one quick movement, bringing the shocked, dirty man bowling right into another equally shocked, equally dirty man. Both went down in a heap of grunting and cursing.

Beside him, Usha had already broken the forearms of the first man who had tried to grapple her, deftly dealing a blow to the temple which brought the much larger man down like a sack of potatoes. Only then had she brought out her swords, and whirled them about.

The first to bring his sword against her had lost his hand, the second had been slashed right across the face, and she was busy exchanging blows with another of the ruffians. Sokka gave the remaining three bandits a glare as he drew his boomerang from his back.

"We don't have time for this, so either flee or attack." He told them.

They didn't seem all that eager to come at him. The two men he'd disabled were still lying prostrate, out of breath, and out of the fight for a least a few moments. Usha, using fists, feet and swords, had already reduced their numbers by a third.

Still, one of them decided to make a go for him, charging with abandon. Sokka saw the attack coming by a mile, and quickly threw his boomerang at the man. Two decades of careful practice became evident when it struck the man full face, rebounded, and came back towards the Icelander, who caught it with his other hand.

This too the fight out of the remaining two bandits, and they fled away, even as Usha sliced away her opponent's ear, prompting his retreat. Those who could stumbled after the rest, and the short battle came to an end.

Usha ignored the fallen around her, quickly scrubbing the blood off her blades with a critical look, examining the blades for any nicks. Sokka holstered his boomerang as he watched the bandits depart.

"They were a really stupid bunch. They should have read us better." She muttered, sounding like her mentor for a moment. The brown-skinned man shrugged at that.

"I think they did. I mean, we looked like a guy with a boomerang and a cute girl in a really tight red outfit. Guess they just read bad." He answered, and grinned as the woman flushed a bit at the mention of her outfit. _Man, she's so easy to fluster!_

"Smooth talk, sir." She grunted.

"I'm always smooth! Makes me who I am!" he grinned, "Why so glum? Its only the _third_ time people have been trying to rob and kill us on the road." He meant it as a joke, but it felt flat. Many of his attempts at humour did these days, he realized.

Usha looked at her swords still, finally sheathing them in one graceful movement. _She's getting better. Not Zuko, not yet, but she's a natural at this. But there's one area where she still sucks, and its when she's trying to fool me from her true emotions._

"Its getting worse, I know." He said, answering her unspoken thoughts. "There's more bandits on the roads, and in the cities. That's to be expected, after so much death and so much… poverty."

The Fire Nation had conquered Omashu, and had led a great army south, at the same time as another army, led by Azula herself, had come from the long-conquered western towns. At its strongest, the city of Bah Sing Se would have withstood the onslaught as it had many times before.

But the near-defeat at Iroh's hand had sapped its strength, and Long Feng's machination had corrupted the ranks of many of the officers, allowing Azula access to the wall's weaknesses, bringing it down and, after a great struggle, bringing the ancient city under her control.

But, although the Fire Nation had defeated the Earth Kingdom and renamed itself the Fire Empire, its grip was weak. In many areas, there were not enough soldiers left to police the roads. Those regions became havens for freedom fighters, but more often to bandits and killers.

Because of the current situation, crops were down, famine was stalking many places, and rendered the people desperate. And then there was even worse than that, something Sokka, even now, had problems fully believing: the spiritual realm was beginning to affect the mortal realm.

It had to do, some Benders said, with the imbalance caused by the absence of the Avatar. Regions which had seen great violence in recent years became tainted, dangerous zones, abandoned by the living. And ghosts and strange incidents were becoming more common with each year.

_Its no wonder people are going crazy in this situation. If something isn't done soon, even the Fire Nation's islands'll be corrupted, _Sokka thought. There was something to be done about that, too. But Zuko, thus far, hadn't listened. Or, rather, had chosen not to.

He patted the grim-looking girl on the back, startling her out of her own thoughts. "Its getting worse, but we're still here. We'll find a way to reverse all this, you'll see. Bumi, Zuko, all of us… we'll kick Azula's ass and then do something about this."

Usha's eyes softened slightly. "Optimism? Doesn't that get galling, sir? Always trying to hold on to that? I know it helps our people. I mean, that's why they look up to you, but…"

Sokka began to walk forward. If they were lucky, they'd be with Bumi in less than two days. And then, with him, things would look brighter. Things always looked a bit more hopeful with the elderly, strange, fanciful, eccentric but _determined_ old Earthbender.

"There's something you need to understand about me, Usha. Something that's always run in my family. In my father, in my grandmother, in my sister and – though I act otherwise sometimes – in me too."

"Sir?" She asked as she followed.

"I don't just act like I believe things'll work out. I don't fight, when I don't believe." he grinned, snapping his fingers. "That's all there is to it!" _And I'll hold on to that no matter how much Jet, Azula and Suki each try to make me believe in something else. That's who I am and, one way or another, that's who I'll remain. _

* * *

She looked at the cliffside they skirted, steep and dangerous. She looked at Aang preparing Appa to take off, eagerness and apprehension warring on his face. Most of all she spied Zuko – the Firebender who'd seemingly saved them from capture – talking with a grey-haired man. He, too, seemed to have conflicting feelings about what was happening.

Katara did too, but not to the same extent. Her main feelings could be summed up only one way: she didn't like the entire situation. She made her way to Aang swiftly, keeping an eye on the crewmen and, especially, on Zuko.

The Avatar – she knew it had to be him, there was not other explanation in her mind – saw her coming, and there was a frown on his face as he looked at her. Ever since their escape, he had avoided her as best he could, and she knew she was to blame for that.

_I told him the truth, _she told herself, _but I didn't have to tell it that way. _Her temper had gotten the best of her – something which sometimes happened with her, something she fought to contain. It had tainted many things, including the relationship with her only brother.

"You're really going to help him?" she asked at once, keeping her voice low. "Get to the Temple, to supposedly help that person he told you about?"

"Yep." He said, and there was something final in his tone. He didn't want to discuss it. _Too bad, because I do. _

"Aang, I know you're upset at me. I'm sorry for the way I said things," she mused, inwardly adding _but not about _what _I said, _"but I think you're being hasty. It could still be a trap."

Aang patted Appa gently, not looking at her, still frowning. "Maybe," he said at length, "but I don't think so."

"You don't understand just how underhanded the Imperials…" she tried with some heat. Wrong way to go about it, she realized, and clamped her mouth shut. As for the young Airbender, he barely seemed to notice.

"Maybe I don't get it, but I've always gone with what I see." He mused, sounding older than his years. There was, Katara felt once more, something different, more mature, about him. _But what?_

"I go with what I see, and I've seen him take us out of cells, help me free Appa. We've been given good food, and we can go wherever we want on the ship. And then there's Appa." He patted the Air Bison, which rumbled happily. "He lets Zuko near him, and that's good enough for me."

Katara sighed, partly because of her own feelings on the matter. Zuko and his crew had, after all, created frustration and questioning on her part. They went against everything she expected of them.

They were rough and grim, most of the time. But they also played music and sang songs she didn't know existed. Several told Aang stories of the Fire Tribes of long ago, of their myths and legends. It was a side of the Empire that she'd never seen, that she'd never let herself believe existed.

And then, there was Zuko himself. Grim, silent, sometimes sullen, the Firebender had often seemed angered by her attitude, but had never risen to the numerous baits she'd laid out for him.

It had made her look like a fool, which angered her. It had also shown him to have a better ability for self-control than she did, which frustrated her. It went against all she'd been taught to believe, and that – that – frightened her.

"I think it's a mistake," she told Aang at last, "but I can't stop you if that's what you want."

"Great." He answered.

"So I'll fill up some large gourds and come along with you." She finished matter-of-factly.

Now Aang looked at her. It wasn't an unhappy look, and Katara was pleased to see some relief in his expression. But the shock clearly dominated everything else. She'd caught him short with her last statement, and she actually chuckled, patting him gently on the head.

"I don't trust Zuko like you do, so I'll keep an eye on him," she whispered still, "just in case. And if we actually do save someone, well, its always a good thing to do, saving people."

"Her name is Toph, of the Bei Fong family." Zuko's voice stated, making her whirl around to see him not even five feet from her. _I never felt him move at all. _"And you're welcome… Katara, I think?"

The Waterbender faced the Firebender a long moment, and she heard Aang take in a breath and hold it. But Katara had said what she'd said, and she'd hold herself to that. _Till he gives me reason not to, _she clarified.

"I don't trust you… I really don't." she said, keeping her voice from hissing with an effort. He crossed his arms, apparently unimpressed with that affirmation. "So that Toph, is she important?"

Then something in his eyes changed, and Katara once again felt something stir within her. Her doubts, again. Something in his face, showing what her life and upbringing hadn't prepared her for.

"Yes," he mused tonelessly, "she is special, in many ways. Not all of them good, perhaps."

She gritted her teeth. _Damn Firebender. I know its just a trick. It's a trap for Aang. But if it's a trick, you're good at pulling them off. _She gave a sardonic grin in response, to herself as well as to him. Behind her, Aang piped up, his voice lively, hopeful again, and yet sounding frightened at the same time.

"Okay then. Let's get going!"


	7. Chapter Six

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Six**

Aang felt both joyful and frightened as he approached the rocky peaks where he had lived all of his life. He desperately wanted to see the Temple to make sure that what had been said was a mistake, or a lie. Each would be better than what Katara and Zuko seemed to hold as the truth.

_In a few moments, I'll see the great spires of home, the training grounds, the meditation parks, _he told himself. _They'll see me, and then the Elders will come, and then Gyatso will scold me…_

It was strange to think of a scolding with any kind of relief and fondness. In this case, however, a scolding from the great Master Airbender would be one of the most welcome thing. He was truly looking forward to it, as insane as part of him told him it was.

"We're near?" Zuko shouted from where he clutched Appa uncertainly. He and Katara were finding the trip far less amusing than the young monk.

"Yeah! We'll be seeing it in a minute!" The Airbender reported.

"No, THEY'll see US in a minute! Land or fly lower!" The scarred man commanded. Aang turned back a moment to glare.

"No way! This is my home!" he answered. At this, Katara stirred, giving Zuko a cold look, as if to say what she said changed nothing.

"Aang, I know you don't want to believe it. But I think… in this case… that Zuko is right." The last word seemed to be choked out of her throat.

Aang was about to retort to that, but at that moment Appa banked a cliff the monk knew well, and the youth quickly looked forward. As if on cue, the Southern Air Temple appeared.

It seemed to the eye the same as Aang had ever known it. Its buildings and ancient halls stood proudly, and its parks and grounds were showed people moving about. The Airbender beamed happily, and gave the due behind him a satisfied look.

"See?" He exclaimed, his tone defiant even to his ears, as relief gripped his being. _Now maybe the Elders'll tell me the REAL truth. Gyatso will, if they don't. _"You told me that my people had been killed, but…"

A blast of fire streaked into the sky, nearly hitting Appa. The bison moaned in surprise and fury, confused by the situation, even as several other blasts followed the first one. Aang's training kicked in, and he began to swerve away, feinting, guiding, while his mind was nothing but a stunned blank. _Those are fire blasts! Firebenders! Down there!_

The monk looked at his home, and for the first time noticed that the people in the yard were dressed in red and black, not brown and orange. He saw gaps in walls and overgrowth, the signs of battle strewn all around.

Zuko was beside him, shouting something. It took Aang a few moments to realize it, a few more to find the presence of mind to respond. It seemed as thought his ability to think had been stripped away.

"Down! Go down! They don't know about us, but if they see we're actually people, they'll do much worse!" The man angrily shook the Avatar. "Land, Aang! Get out of here and LAND!"

For a moment, Aang didn't understand at all. Then, something in him did, even as the core of his being simply refused to comprehend, to process, what was happening.

As if in a dream, the boy grasped the Air Bison, shouting something which seemed to calm Zuko down. He noticed, in a corner of his mind, that the Temple was obscured from his sight, that fire blasts had stopped, and that they were spiralling downwards.

He didn't feel the landing. He vaguely saw the other two moving on Appa's back, then move near him. Finally, he had the impression that gentle hands were coaxing him off Appa. He followed them because there seemed to be nothing else to do.

He sat down where he found himself, his mind trying to grasp something he didn't want to. There had been Firebenders down there. If there had been Firebenders, and if they'd attacked an Air Bison…

_Gyatso… my… home… _he tried to bring himself to understand it, to try and believe in the possibilities what he'd seen meant. _The Temple… the holes in the walls… the overgrowth… the signs of violence… its… its not…there's no way… they can't be… can't…_

"Aang…" A voice talked gently, as if in great sorrow. _Why don't I feel sad? Why don't I feel ANYTHING? Its not… normal. Its…not. _He lifted his head to look into Katara's gentle, sad face. Behind her, looking pensive and torn, Zuko hovered. Both seemed to be waiting for some sign from him.

"I…I'm… okay." He told them. _Why is my voice so weird? And why is it that I'm not sad?_ He frowned when he saw their doubtful looks. "I'm okay, really. I… I guess… you were… right."

"Avatar… Aang…" Zuko said, "There's no words for what has happened over there, none…"

And then Aang took his staff and began to walk, taking the road towards the Air Temple. He didn't feel anything, but looking at their pitying faces wasn't something the boy wanted to do at all. It surprised them, because it too a moment before they followed him.

"If we take a certain trail, we can get into the Temple unseen! Its something we apprentices found years ago!" he said. He felt them hesitate behind him, but continued forward.

"Aang. What just happened… you're not yourself." Katara said gently. Aang rounded on her, pointing his staff, glaring at her, and forcing her back a step.

"I'm fine! I'll deal with it! Right now, let's go and save Zuko's friend, okay?!?" _Its stupid! I'm fine. I don't feel sad at all. I don't. I don't feel anything at all. So I must be fine. Yeah, fine._

He turned on his heels and began to walk again, telling Appa to wait there. A moment later, they began to follow. The young Avatar never looked back once.

* * *

The blow came mere days after the near-warning. It came as no surprise to Ty Lee. Once she realized – that she was all but told by the woman herself – that Azula knew enough to suspect her, she knew that someone would be sent, probably to take care of her.

It came when she left her small villa. As soon as she came out the front door, several Dai Li agents came towards her. Two of them came at her back, four of them in front of her. _Only six of them? No way, Azula. You're not dumb. _She thought grimly. No other citizen came out from any nearby street or habitation. Not surprising, with the fear the Dai Li in stilled in the common folk.

The two behind her quickly grabbed her, and used their rock-like gloves to shackle her hands. At that moment, the four Earthbenders in front of her advanced on her, and several more – she counted ten more - came from the sides, having been hidden between the fruit trees and bonsais surrounding this wealthy part of Ba Sing Se.

"Ty Lee of the Blood House of Joruko," one of them intoned, "you are hereby under arrest by the order of Crown Princess Azula, for aiding criminals to the authority of the Empire."

The young woman could have laughed at the very hypocrisy of the speech. Ty Lee had long accepted that she was a traitor. But the Dai Li had been sworn to the Earth King and the Earth Kingdom. _Easy to spout morals to a helpless prisoner, _she smirked inwardly, _unless that prisoner isn't all that helpless, after all._

When they were all near enough to be reached, when she felt that their cold arrogance as Benders was at its summit, she acted. She brought her feet backward and up, her heel striking with deadly force at the place where her hands were bound.

She'd seen the Dai Li work for many years, and she'd examined some of their works. She knew how, and where, to hit. As it was, the rock shattered without harming her hands a bit, and she was suddenly freed.

Then she went to the offensive. Once, at the age of sixteen, she'd defeated twelve Earthbenders by herself. She felt she could have taken more. Ten years later, her physical fitness and skills had never been higher, and she went on to beat her personal record.

Ty Lee had trained in all sorts of acrobatics, of gymnastics and martial arts since she was little. Her dream had been to join a circus, but her skills were just as magnificent in battle. Azula hadn't chosen her for her quick wit, or her love of showing off, but because she had something lethal to show off.

She came at the Dai Li before they could get over their surprise and mount a defence. She began a dance only she knew, dodging quickly-summoned rocks, hitting points which blocked any Bending abilities. Her legs kicked and pivoted amongst the surrounding forces, and the young woman almost laughed with glee.

_This is where I live! The danger, the thrill of doing something challenging! _She thought in excitement,_ Battlefield or Circus, I'd never be able to live a normal, boring life!_

The six closest to her fell within moments, impaired by well-placed strikes, and she continued to move, dodging and ducking, hearing herself giggle when a blow came close to striking her. And then she was upon another, and another. It was a moment of fear and euphoria. It was the thing she loved more than she dared to admit.

And then there was no one. All of them lay on the ground. Some were knocked out cold. Some of them were moaning and yet incapable of lifting a finger. All of them were still alive. It wasn't just an act of mercy on her part. She wanted to remind Azula of the precision her skills possessed.

"Is that all?!?" She shouted, panting but intact. "Is that all, Azula?!? You're underestimating me!" She added empathically. _Or are you just playing one of you games with me?_

Ty Lee couldn't care less. If Azula wanted to play a game instead of just of finishing it right now, the acrobatic fighter was game for it. She'd make it a game of her own, a challenge to overcome.

She grabbed one of the Dai Li which was still conscious and shook him. "Okay, sweetie, here's what you'll say to Azula when she comes here and laughs at your asses. Tell her: 'You've got the brains, but I've got the moves. Give me a challenge.' Got it?!?"

She shook the man until he muttered, painfully, that he understood. She made him repeat the message, and then finally released him. She then looked around the wrecked tress and road in front of the villa, destroyed by Earthbenders.

_This is it. _she thought. One way or another, this was the end of her life as Azula's friend and confidante. It was a life she'd hated increasingly over the years, finally forsaking it entirely when she'd seen old man Iroh's fall. She could still see his pity-filled eyes briefly touching her.

From that point on, she'd crossed out her own loyalty to Ozai and Azula, although not vocally and furiously as Zuko had renounced his father and sister that day. She'd gone back to doing something she liked doing, even if it meant going against old friends.

The moment passed. She was standing there in the midst of defeated enemy, taking in the last moments of free life, and quickly took off the clothes and hat of a Dai Li small enough to fit her own frame. Then she was gone.

Only a few contacts knew of her connection with the Resistance. She was certain Azula had silenced them all. Only Sokka and Bumi still lived who knew about her. That meant that she had the Imperial Forces and the Resistance as enemies presently.

It was a horrible thought. It would have depressed many beings, but not her. She lived for the moment, and the more thrilling, the better. That was the way she'd chosen her path in life, always.

"A game, Azula?" she called with a smile which had frightened many enemies with its ruthless innocence. "We'll see! I'm not as smart a player, but boy, I'm a QUICK one!"

And she made her way towards the populated areas of Ba Sing Se with, strangely enough even to her, the closest feeling to that of relief she'd felt in a very long time blossoming in her heart.

* * *

The approach to the Temple was slow and tedious, through the wild mountain bushes and overgrown weeds – which was more green than Katara had seen in one place for her entire life. Still, Aang had been right. There WAS a trail, and no Fire soldiers to be seen so far.

Aang walked beside them, looking forward a bit too intently for Katara's comfort. The fact that he had been attacked by Firebenders had, it seemed, driven home the fact that his people were no more in that place.

The young Airbender had all but shut himself off from conversation, which left the female Waterbender with only one companion for conversation. That it happened to be a despised Firebender made things difficult for her to say the least.

Still, she'd seen the scarred young man near her giving Aang some troubled glances, which made her rate him, grudgingly, as someone who'd probably care for her opinion on the matter. With a deep sigh, she drifted off to the golden-eyed man.

"He's not doing well," she stated, "and its going to get worse pretty soon." She was surprised when the man gave her a look and a nod.

"I've noticed." he said, "But we don't have a choice anymore. He won't let us send him back, and he's our only way off this place. When we rescue Toph, its possible that the Air Bison will be our life-saver."

Katara couldn't find anything to say to that. One thing which bothered her, was that Zuko appeared to known more about the situation than anyone else and knew better was irritating her. Right or not, she hated to be patronized.

She was about to say something to that effect, when she noticed that Aang's gait, which had been even until now, had become erratic. It was more awkward, as if he wasn't really there. Looking at the boy, all thoughts of telling the Firebender what she thought of his brand of wisdom vanished.

Aang walked, and kept up with the others, but the strained determination on his face had broken. His eyes were now slightly glazed, red, and tears ran down his cheeks on a face which tried – and failed – to keep despair in.

Katara had had such a face three times. The first, when her mother had died. The second and the third, when her father and brother had left, respectively. Each time, she'd thought she'd die on the spot. And yet, she still had Gran-Gran, and other villagers, to talk with. Aang had, certainly, no one else.

"Oh, Aang..." she said softly, and moved towards him. But she was stopped by Zuko, who motioned for her to stay.

"We don't have time for this. Let me handle it." he said. Before she could react, he was beside the boy, crouching.

For a moment, surprise gave way to complete fury, and she found herself ready to unplug her gourd. _Nice or not, I don't have to take that from a blasted Firebender! I don't care anymore. That guy's getting a good trashing – Water Tribes style!_

The moment passed, and the anger left her. Although still angry at the man's way, she owed him as well, and Katara didn't strike someone who helped her, no more than she turned her back on people who needed her help – no matter who it was. Anger was perhaps in her nature, but bigotry had never been.

The scarred man stopped the boy with his hand and crouched further, leaning towards Aang's ear. Something was whispered, something she couldn't make out at all, except that it sounded harsh and urgent.

Still, the short, one-sided conversation seemed to snap a part of Aang's spirit out of its funk. The young monk's eyes regained a small glimmer of the flaring light she'd seen when the boy had first awoken in her village. There was a crushing sorrow left, but it wasn't – for the moment – completely overpowering him anymore.

Zuko grasped Aang's shoulder tightly for a moment, and then stood up, as if mildly embarrassed. He noticed Katara's look, and gave back something which was – for once – as fiery as any Firebender she'd ever met. There was a fire there, after all. Not all of the young man was a calm lake.

Katara looked at Aang, looked up at the towering cliffs, at the bits of the Temple showing far above her, and sighed. She hated to be outside of something. She wanted to help the boy. But, at the moment, she regretfully found no words to say. She was too afraid to break the flimsy stability Zuko had ignited.

"Aang… how long before we get there?" she asked gently. The boy's look was a sorrowful sight, but at least he understood and responded.

"About…two hours. We'll take a way which they can't see unless they're looking really, really hard." The boy replied, "Then we should be able to sneak inside a building. If we're lucky."

"We'll be lucky." Zuko said, and Katara was both amazed and irritated by the confidence in his words. "Toph needs us. We'll be lucky."

"That's right!" Katara said, for once agreeing with the sentiment. "Yeah, let get up there and save Toph! I don't know her, but that doesn't mean anything. If she's in trouble and needs help, I'll do what it takes!" Now it was Zuko who looked surprised. _Heheh, got ya there, Firebender! _

* * *

Sokka grinned at Usha's look of dismay. They had arrived near the ruins of what had once been Taku. It had once been as grand as Omashu, but had been abandoned after repeated Fire Nation attacks had damaged it and destroyed trade.

He knew that Usha hadn't expected to be taken to a number of rough shacks at the base of the ruins. He understood why – that wasn't exactly what you pictured when you thought of the center of the Resistance, King Bumi's seat.

"That's right! You've never been here!" Sokka exclaimed highly as he made his way through the dozen or so shacks made of rough timbers and stone scavenged from the ruins. He saw the young woman looking about in pity, and shook his head. The sentiment was laudable, but in this place…

"I didn't think that it'd be located in a shanty town like this." She mused, as Sokka went towards the shack near the base of the ruins. There, an old man was seated, wearing an old hat and munching what seemed to be a vegetable of some kind. Sokka grinned at him.

"Sokka of the Hakoda Group." he announced to the old man with a wink. "Got some news the old fart might wanna hear."

"Zat so?" The old man muttered, briefly glancing up. "Guess iz so." He then tapped his foot to the ground lightly, and a rectangular door opened in the wall. "Guess I'll go get something while I'm at it."

The water tribesman noticed Usha's stunned look, and was glad he'd kept things secret the way he had – they made it more fun in times like these. He motioned the warrior forward, and noticed the old man shuffling after them.

The doorway closed behind them, and they continued forward and downward a long time, their way illuminated by brilliant globes set in the ceiling at regular intervals. He noticed Usha looking at them.

"Glow moss. Plenty of it in caves. Perfect for lighting, next to a good ol' torch." He explained, "We'll have to walk a bit further and then… ah, here we are."

They came to two other men. This time, they weren't shabbily-dressed, but rather dressed in the earthy, symmetrical clothes of Earthbenders of Omashu. They took a good look at the trio, and then open another door from the seamless rock. After another journey through another tunnel, another door opened yet again, and the beheld the place where the Omashu Group had elected to stay.

They were inside a cavern which had bee greatly altered. Glowing moss was everywhere, and cook fire and torches made for an almost normal illumination by their sheer number. All around the cavern, the rock had been worked, to an extent that made the Hakoda group seem small in comparison.

What he saw Usha looking at where the many people. Dozens of Earthbenders were training in one spot, other people were cooking, some were smithing and cobbling, while still others were tending to what looked like vast gardens.

"Impressed?" Sokka asked with a grin. She gave him a half-glare. "Come on! Like I'd tell you and spoil the surprise! Ain't this place great? A self-sufficient place. Food, water, sleeping quarters, weapons. You name it, they probably have it." he said, walking forward.

"They really eat here? Then those gardens…" Usha replied.

"Yup. They've managed to coax vegetables to grow even here. They don't make the best of tomatoes, but they've managed to coax enough potatoes and green stuff from the soil."

"Not to mention the lettuce. Very fresh. Almost minty taste." The old man mused. Usha turned to him in surprise. She's clearly forgotten he was there. Sokka smiled.

"This is the place where the remnants of Omashu's defence forces and several refugees came years ago. But it wouldn't have been possible at all, if a man hadn't been thinking outside the box to design it." he gave the old man a grin. "Ain't that right?"

The old man looked at him, and then began to chuckle, louder, until it became a genuine laugh. Usha looked at them both as if they were mad, and was surprised when the old man slapped a hand on her shoulder as well as Sokka's.

"Ho ho! Well done, lad. Not bad at all." The old man chuckled happily. "I thought I had you fooled this time." The man took off his hat, revealing a wrinkled, aged face with one eye larger than the other, eyes shining with amusement and energy. Shaggy white hair and a thin white beard surrounded his thin face.

"Hey, hey! Gimme a break, Bumi!" Sokka protested, "I just didn't want to spoil it to the kid over there. I knew it was you the moment I saw you munching on that lettuce of yours!"

"You're…Bumi!" Usha stated as if in a daze, and then bowed deeply. "Sir, it's a great honour to meet a man of your…" she then yelped when a slap to the back sent her sprawling, even as the old Earthbender chuckled.

"There's no need to be stiff and formal, lil' lady!" the old man said with a snicker. "You sound as stiff as Zuko! You're Usha, right? You should've listened to Iroh more: at least he could PARTY!"

Sokka remembered when his father had taken him to the hideout the first time. Iroh had been present as well, and the two old men had gotten drunk and jolly that evening. Sokka had to stop himself from thinking that way. Iroh was missed enough without such thoughts.

"I wish I was here only to awe one of my subordinates, Bumi, but I didn't come for that, I'm afraid." Sokka said, regaining his seriousness. He let go of the levity reluctantly – being joyful was the way he preferred being.

Bumi gave him a sad smile, and for a moment, the mask fell. He saw the weary face of a man who had seen eleven decades of conflict, and who was tired of everything about it. Then the jolly face was back.

"Oh, I knew you weren't! But come, come! You can tell me about it while we walk!" Bumi began to talk, and Sokka let him take control of the situation. "The young lady hasn't seen the best parts of the place. You know about escape routes? Well, I managed something about that. Rather proud of it, too!"

Sokka sighed in nostalgia, and allowed himself to enjoy the good cheer Bumi seemed intent to hold unto until the moment he died. It allowed him, for a moment, to forget about the problems he faced with the war. Spirits knew, they'd still be there afterwards!

* * *

The boy had been right. Whether its was an oversight, or whether it was because the forces the Empire had sent were few – Zuko had counted only twenty people outside in their brief pass, and surmised that the total of troops amounted one hundred at most – the fact remained that they came upon the Temple with no alarms detected.

Up close, the former beauty of the Southern Air Temple, its former serenity, was apparent. Once, the prince was certain in his heart, one's woes must have been calmed just by coming to this place.

It made the clear destruction of the Temple all the more poignant. Great gaps had been blasted through moss-covered walls. Walking paths had been levelled, and ancient structures laid low.

The outer edge of the Temple – where the Airbenders must have made their main stand – was the most damaged, but the battle had spread everywhere to an extent. It seemed that the serene monks had fought with everything they had, fighting over every bit of ground.

_They were the heroes here, and my people the monsters, _he thought, and he once again understood a bit more of the shame his uncle had sometimes spoken about. The people of the Empire – of the former Fire Nation – had lost their way when they crushed the Temples, killed all the Airbenders they found, and scattered the Air Nomads.

The boy was holding up well, given the situation, but he hoped they wouldn't stay too long. Not only because he had no wish to face an entire garrison, but also because he didn't wish this pain visited on the boy too long. He hoped they wouldn't come across any bodies of that ancient battle.

Katara had a hand on Aang's shoulder, and the scarred warrior was amazed at the gentleness radiating from her. For all of her temper, she seemed one given more to healing and compassion, as he felt himself a man of destruction and battle. They took position next to what might have been a sort of barn, possible for Air Bisons.

"Aang…" he whispered. The boy didn't react to it. "Aang!" he repeated, more urgently. Sad, young eyes looked at him, and the man felt irritatingly guilty, "I need to know where they'd go. Where's the central point of the Temple?"

"I…I guess… the Air Temple Sanctuary. It's the oldest building, right in the middle." He said slowly, frowning.

Zuko nodded. "Good. We'll make our way there, as silently as possible. I'll be scouting ahead, and you follow when I say the way is clear. Alright?"

They nodded, although the Waterbender was the most reluctant of the two. _Still thinks I might be working for them. But that problem can definitely wait. _He began to edge forward through, avoiding open spaces when possible.

He was excellent at stealth, as well as swordsmanship. It came, ironically enough, from his rivalry with his sister. He'd learned early on that Azula's Firebending was probably beyond his reach. In order to one day equal her, he'd learn a variety of other skills, which he'd honed to as fine an edge as he could after Iroh's death.

He could be a ghost when he wished to be, now. He gently led the duo through, carefully avoiding the enemy patrols, until they came to a very large structure. It was clearly old, even to Zuko's eyes, and there were many soldiers there, some of them Firebenders.

"We can't get inside through the front." Katara sighed. Aang nodded pensively. It seemed that the fear of the moment was driving off some of the gloom from the boy, for he quickly pointed out alternate, minor doorways, to which they came.

Three men were guarding it. Zuko glanced at them, then felt Katara's hand on his shoulder. Quickly, she whispered a plan to him, to which he nodded. Crouching, he prepared to leap, giving her a sign that he was ready.

With admirable skill, the woman Waterbended the content of one gourd, and four streaks of water lashed out from their hiding point, hitting the guards in the face, but also sticking there, choking them. A ploy which couldn't last more than a few moments.

Zuko leapt forward, crossing the distance as fast as lightning. He proceeded to make short work of the struggling, choking guards, using swift, decisive kicks and hand strikes. He wasn't anywhere near the martial artist that Ty Lee was, but he was very practiced. They hit the floor, water releasing them, without making a sound.

He looked around, then motioned for the other two to come. "Great, we got them. But there'll be a patrol at some point. We need to hide these soldiers."

They managed quickly enough, with the aid of Aang's Airbending, to hide them off in a small alcove. Zuko gave the boy a pat of approval. _Ten years ago, I'd have gladly captured him. And now, I'm starting to like him. As you said, Fate can be funny, Uncle._

They entered the building quickly. Time was of the essence now. Zuko's heart was beginning to pound harder, his anxiety rising, and he had to stop a moment, to collect himself. He couldn't allow himself to be apprehensive. Toph needed him. Perhaps for the only time in her life, she needed help. _I won't fail her like I failed Uncle! Never!_

"Remember what you told me?" a voice whispered. Zuko looked down to the sorrowful, but determined face of the one he was certain was the Avatar. The boy had lost everything, and yet continued. What was he, if he hesitated now.

"You're right. I do. And I meant the words." He sighed, then pulled himself back together. No more weaknesses, no more hesitations. "Lets go."

They entered the main chamber, and Zuko was overwhelmed by the size of it. It like an enormous stairwell, upon which stood rows upon rows of life-like statues, most of them broken. The very place spoke of ancient times, times before the Empire, the Fire Nation, perhaps before the Fire Tribes truly took shape.

Then Zuko heard the noise. It came from the other side of the room, hidden by the many statues. Blasts of fire and, suddenly, a whimper which might have been female. _Firebenders. Using Firebender to scare and torture. And the only person they'd use it on here is likely…_

He didn't think anymore. Didn't need to. Unsheathing his blades, seizing the moment, Zuko charged forward, merging ghost and killer. He was the Blue Spirit now. And the Blue Spirit had set himself a mission. Without waiting for the other two, he charged towards the source of the flashes and noise.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Seven**

Zuko rounded the great mass of debris and old statues, and came upon a scene so shocking to his senses that, for a moment, he would have been incapable of any action, even if he had been attacked. He'd finally found Toph.

The sarcastic, proud and powerful Earthbender had been subdued as thoroughly as she possibly could be. Ropework tied her hands over her head and suspended her above the ground, while her feet themselves were tied. A gag muffled whatever sound the young woman made.

Her clothes, which had always been in the yellows and greens of the Bei Fong family – to which Toph still maintained filial affection and loyalty – had been torn to pieces through several small firebursts. Zuko saw many fresh burn marks, and quite a few old ones.

None of that was what stopped Zuko. The scene itself was hurting him, but there was something else he saw which made it all the more horrible. It struck him to his very soul and left him numb for a moment.

Toph was crying. The ex-prince could have cursed his excellent eyes, but he saw the tears. And he saw the small, almost imperceptible jerk of Toph's body, a jerk he immediately recognized as something he'd repressed many times, just after his scarring: a tortured sob.

The young man had seen a lot of terrible sights, and had taken them in and survived them. But there had been one death which he had never been able to live through: his Uncle's. For a moment, he saw Iroh superimposed on Toph's body. All that in a moment of numb stillness.

And then the Firebenders turned. And a woman dressed in deep red and black also did, and started as she recognized him.

"Zuko!" she gasped. It was all the scarred man needed to shake off his shock. Instead, rage filled him.

He called upon the powers of Firebending, and it came, fuelled by his hatred. Typhoon of flames swirled about Zuko as he glared at Toph's captors in naked fury. His blades, he gripped so hard that he half-wondered if the hilts wouldn't snap off. If they did, he was fully ready to tear his enemies apart with his bare hands.

"You've got no _idea_ the _pain_ you've unleashed on yourselves!" he all but shrieked, and he barely saw Toph jerk strongly, emitting a sound. He was gone. The Blue Spirit had taken over.

The Blue Spirit had always been a sort of symbol of his ruthlessness. When that side of him was active, little mercy could be expected. His rage had grown too great. But, at the same time, it has gone so hot that it was also as the coldest ice.

Fire danced into his blade, as he pivoted and launched a strike at the closest Firebender. The man, surprised, hadn't readied a defence, and it was like wood taking fire. The warrior's agonized scream mingled with Zuko's enraged one.

It was only the beginning. There were five more Firebenders, and Mai to boot. He analyzed that the woman was still stunned by the turn of events, and Zuko immediately set upon the other Firebenders with abandon.

Ever since his strange encounters with fish which were actually powerful Spirits, and especially since Iroh's death, Zuko had tried to emulate his Uncle's ability to keep calm, to moderate himself and his thoughts. No more. He set these aside completely.

He went at the other Firebenders with fiery blades twirling with lethal precision. A shot of fire hit him, and he didn't even flinch, redirecting the rest of it, breaking the next flaming wave. He feinted, and kicked one enemy in the head, channelling all of his power, pulverizing the head in as an orgy of seared flesh and bones.

"You think I'll forgive worms… worms like you?" he shouted, and dodged a fire palm and gutted an enemy, nearly cleaving it in two. The three remaining Benders hesitated, and pain blossomed in Zuko's shoulder. He turned, glaring at Mai preparing her daggers and darts.

And then a gust of wind slammed her into the far wall, and a great gout of water smashed into one of Zuko's three remaining enemies, knocking the Firebender off-balance and shaking the others off-balance. He briefly saw the man sputter on the ground helplessly, while he also saw Mai slump to the ground, cracks showing where she'd be smashed in.

The powerful Firebender and Swordsman thrust down on the sputtering man pitilessly, and the courage drained from the last two enemies. They lost all desires of confronting him, and ran off into the night madly.

For a moment, the boiling blood in Zuko shouted for him to follow the men, to visit fire and blood upon them. But he saw Toph jerking again from the corner of his eye, and the impulse all but vanished. Heedless of his approaching companions, he went to his friend.

Leaping, he cut off the rope suspending her in a flash, and Toph collapsed on him as he caught her and landed, her jerking body wracked with certain, deep pain. He quickly removed the gag from her mouth, and was overcome with guilt and sorrow when Toph seemed only barely to respond. He heard himself softly calling her name, but the Earthbender was clearly in shock.

"They did this… here?!?" Aang suddenly growled, and Zuko's head turned to the nearby Airbender in alarm. There was something strained in Aang's voice. Something both sad… and dangerous. "They… tortured someone… IN THE HALLS?!? _HAVEN'T THEY DONE ENOUGH!!_

The prince held the once commonly known as the Blind Bandit tightly against him, and edged backward. He was feeling something. Bending, and also… something else… mixing in some way.

Zuko was still too angry to fully think straight, but he was clear-headed enough to know that something was terribly wrong with the probable Avatar. And, if the legends had any truth in them, then this wasn't just bad. This was something potentially fatal. Avatar Roku's anger when pushed had been nearly as renowned as his knowledge had been.

"Enough! Enough!! ENOUGH!!! ENOUGHENOUGHENOUGH!!!!!!" The boy shouted in something caught between complete grief and utter hatred. Or, rather, both of them at the same time.

And then, in a brilliant flash of white light, chaos broke loose, and Zuko turned his shattered friend away from it, protecting her as the heavens themselves seemed to tremble.

* * *

It had taken Aang a moment before seeing the person Zuko had been looking for. Despite the tension, he'd bee looking at those statues still standing intact in the great, ancient room, remembering when he'd first been brought there, as a youth.

Roku of Fire, Kyoshi of Earth, Kuruk of Water, and Yangshen of Air. He had always felt a sort of kinship to those last four, as if he knew them well, while knowing that he'd been born right around Roku's death, and born far later than the other three. He'd never known them, yet he felt as if he had.

When he learned his heritage, he understood it better. He was linked to all past Avatars. The last four, closest to him, would probably feel more familiar. That was what he contemplated between bouts of depression.

He reflected upon his link, and upon his destiny, and so he was slower to come towards the place Zuko had rushed to. He then heard Katara, who was slightly ahead, stop and gasp, and snapped back to reality.

He saw the woman, suspended, beaten, burned and helpless. The sight of it, in the middle of his Temple, in the middle of a memorial to men and women who had shouldered a great weight as best they could, was so contradictory that, for a moment, he didn't believe it. It made no sense. _The world isn't… can't be… made that way._

And then Zuko, who had always seemed to Aang as a man keeping a great sadness in check, burst with Firebending with an angry roar. The man charged the Fire Nation people in the room, and Aang dazedly saw Katara begin to Waterbend. Her face told the story: she didn't like Zuko, but she agreed with him on this fight.

Aang watched them fight the surprised Firebenders skilfully, unmoving. He couldn't keep his eyes from the suspended woman, her battered look, and, most of all the way it seemed that her seemingly-blind eyes seemed to have regained a glow of some kind. He didn't – he couldn't – do anything. Nothing made sense to him anymore.

_This isn't supposed to be happening. My home's always been a peaceful place. _his mind told him, _There's those Elders… those grumbling old geezers. And Gyatso, teaching me Airbending, teaching me to play tricks on the Elders… there's the other trainees… the Southern Air Temple is a PEACEFUL place!_

Then he spotted the only female amongst the enemy. She was positioning herself where neither Zuko nor Katara, who were having a clear upper hand against the Firebenders, could see her. She was readying knives. She was prepared to strike.

And that was then that it came crashing down on Aang. The thin wall he'd built around himself crumbled. His home was ravaged, his people killed, so that THESE Firebenders could build a place to TORTURE people!

Air had always come to him at his bidding. He'd always learned his lessons well, even when he appeared to goof off. It was so easy that he learned advanced techniques by the age of seven, was an Airbending Master by the age of ten, something unseen for centuries. Unseen, a part of him told him many times, since Avatar Yangshen.

It came to him now, and he willed it into a furious strike at the woman, lifting her up the ground and slamming her into the far wall. She gave a strangled grunt, then fell to the ground, groaning. She obviously still lived, but the shock had taken her out of the fight.

"It was a peaceful place. Nobody hurt other people here." He felt tears welling in his eyes, and something warm and horrible welling inside of him. He felt the rage taking hold of him, and he didn't try to stop it. "They did this… here…"

He noticed Zuko cutting the suspended woman free, noticed Katara looking at him in sudden concern. He saw the surviving Firebenders fleeing. None of that mattered to the young Avatar. All he felt was the overwhelming feeling of loss, and a need to lash out.

"They did this…here?!?" he growled, and then he didn't know what he was saying anymore. He was hearing other voices, seeing other faces. Faces from a better time he had left so recently. Faces, people, he'd lost forever. He spoke, but didn't know what he said, and all that remained was the rage.

The power surged within him, and he fully embraced it, accepting its comforting power to calm his wounded, despairing heart. He then saw, without seeing, the eyes of the statues bursting with light, and forgot himself in the moment.

* * *

In an Earth Temple, workers and priests, still keeping to their faith in the troubled days, stopped and gazed as the Ancient Tapestries, depicting Avatars from the past, flared with life. They stared, uncomprehending, until one said the words they no longer believed were possible.

"The Avatar… has used his powers." The priest said, smiling uncertainly. "Thank the Spirits, we haven't be wholly forsaken in our hopes. At that, the priest dropped in prayer. And, for the first time in living memory, all in the Earth Temple prayed their thanks.

* * *

In a Fire Temple, the Fire Sages contemplated the glowing light with something between fear and awe. The Fire Temples had long become a political showcase for the Firelord, kept alive only to please the often-superstitious populace, to keep their faith in the demanding war effort.

"W-what do we do?" One asked hesitantly. The Grand Sage shook his head. Political or not, it felt wrong to say what he was about to. But he felt he had no choice.

"Tell the Firelord. Tell him the Avatar has returned." And then the priest went to work. Most of them didn't pray. They neither believed, nor cared for what they saw.

But there were a few who, upon seeing the light, retired to their private cells and dropped to their knees. Those few – many of them weeping, many of them relieved – prayed steadfastly.

* * *

In the depths of the Icy Northern Icelands, Yueh of the Water Tribes turned her ear towards nothing, closing her eyes. Around her, the people hushed. In the last ten years, she had not only become their Chief, altering many mindsets. She'd also become their Grand Priestess, and one of their most powerful Waterbenders. When Yueh became quiet, the people waited for her words.

She smiled, and nodded, giving a shuddering sigh. She then looked over the people of the Northern Water Tribe around her, and gave a radiant smile.

"My friends, today is blessed." She mused gently, "The Avatar once again walks among us."

* * *

In every temple, the word spread: that which had been thought impossible had happened: the Avatar had returned to the world.

* * *

Katara hadn't seen it coming. She'd been too absorbed by the fight to look at her own allies. Her gourds carried only a limited amount of water, and it strained her capabilities. She had practiced by herself for years, honing her strength, but this was the first fight during which she didn't have an ample amount of water to work with.

Then Zuko had cut the battered woman free, and she'd moved to see to her wounds. She's learned, years ago – by complete accident – that Waterbending could heal a body. She hoped to see what she'd be able to do.

And then, Aang had begun to shout angrily, and his power had exploded. A white hue surrounded him, and his eyes glowed like the sun as air whipped all around him. Behind him, the statues' eyes also glowed white, and the entire placed was beginning to shake.

"Aang!" she called, but he didn't seem to hear. His face was stuck in one of pure fury, and he began to rise from the ground, the wind getting stronger. Katara felt helpless before that power, it was simply overwhelming.

Zuko came to stand next to her, and his face showed awe as well as concern. He was clutching the woman he'd saved against him. Whatever had been done to her, Katara saw, had taken its toll: she barely seemed aware of what was going on.

"What's he doing?!? I heard him shouting. What happened?" The Firebending man asked as he winced from the increasing wind blasts.

"I don't know! He… I don't…" it dawned on her then, "It's the place! It's all that's happening here! He couldn't take it anymore!"

She was certain she was right about that. Aang had withstood shock upon shock during the day, and had bravely continued forward. But it must had have been too much to take, and he was lashing out, at everything.

The wind blasts continued, unrelenting. They were driven back a step, then another. The pressure was beginning to take its toll on the ancient room, too. The young woman heard cracks and pop from the ages-old stonework.

"He's going to collapse the whole place on us!" Zuko growled, "Avatar! Listen to me! You have to stop!"

Katara was shocked when she heard Zuko openly addressing Aang as the Avatar. Still, was there any other way to see him now? No Airbender, in any story, had ever been said to be able to do such thing as Aang was doing. The Avatar-related stories, however…

She looked at Aang, at his fury. It was blinding him to everything. But she'd seen it before, that power, and it didn't last. At one point, Aang would regain his senses, and realize what he's done. What then? How much pain would he feel? Maybe enough to forever destroy something remarkable in him, to snuff out his optimism of the world.

_I can't let that happen, I can't! Aang sees more good in the world than Zuklo or me! _she told herself, _The world needs people who see good in _other_ people!_

She took a step forward, fighting against the wind. And then another, and another, edging towards the heart of Aang's maelstrom, towards the Avatar himself. She didn't know if she was insane or desperate, and she didn't care. She HAD to reach him!

"Aang!" she called, "Aang, Zuko's right! You're going to kill us all! I know you're angry, but we're not your enemies! Not me, and not Zuko!" She stumbled through the last words, but there was no denying her rising gut feeling that the stern, scarred man was a friend to them in many ways.

"We've got a wounded friend, here! She's not looking good, but I can heal her!" she continued, wincing as the wind ripped into her body. She'd need some healing, too. However, she noticed that the attacks weren't striking her as hard as they should.

"Aang!" Zuko's voice resounded, strained, as if he was being forced to speak. "Toph's… _important_ to me! And she needs our help!"

She reached him at that moment, and he turned towards her. It was then that she noticed that, while his eyes glared, tears were streaming down his cheeks. She stared at him a moment, and then embraced the angry, wounded boy.

"I'm sorry." She said, "I didn't see. We didn't see. But we need you, Aang! We need the Avatar. Your people, its horrible what happened to them. But there are other children, other people, who're suffering like this! Please help them! Please don't abandon them!"

There was a jerk at that, a trembling which seemed to come from Aang's very soul, and then the winds blew themselves out, and Katara found herself staring a the bald, grief-torn face of a twelve year old boy.

"I don't… I won't… abandon anybody." He said, shaking. "Its just… this… this place… what they did to it…" he choked on the words.

"What my people did was unforgivable." Katara started at Zuko's admission. "But most of them aren't responsible. I swear, one day, we'll make amends… somehow."

Katara was tempted to spit that amends would never cover for what the Fire Nation, and its Empire, had done, but kept her mouth shut. Zuko seemed sincere, and if he was, perhaps there were others.

She hugged the boy against her tightly. "From now on, Aang, I'll always be there for you. I'll always help you, no matter what." Aang rubbed his eyes and grinned shakily. It was a sad, small grin, but at least it existed.

They parted, the feeling of the moment lingering, and then they heard noise from outside. The enemy would be returning soon, it seemed. Zuko, still clutching the woman named Toph, one sword sheathed and the other in hand, came to them.

"They're coming, and we need to go. Aang, you know this place. Can we lose them?"

The young boy looked at Zuko, his eyes still red, but clear. He picked up the staff he'd discarded in his fury and nodded.

"Come on. I'll lead us away from them!" he stated, and they followed the Avatar the way they had come.

* * *

Zuko kept holding on to Toph as he ran. With only one sword in hand, his fighting capabilities were severely crippled. However, he never even thought of letting Toph go as a possibility. He had seen how hurt she had been, and he was completely unwilling for her to be hurt in any way while he was present. He'd be her shield until they were safe.

Fire blasts impacted behind them. _What poor aim, _he found himself thinking irrationally. And with every blast, Toph jerked. Fire, he supposed from her burns, had been used to torment her physically and mentally, and she reacted to it badly.

This infuriated the former prince, that the strong-willed woman he had come to admire and care for had been slowly broken by his own Bending talents. He read Azula's hand in the treatment Toph had been given. _Another reason added to the list, Azula. Another reason not to show you mercy when I'll come for you!_

"They're gaining." Katara mused as she looked back. "We can't lose them. These guys are persistent."

"Mai selected them, I think." Zuko said. "That explains it enough." He had been a bit shocked to see Mai there, but not that much. If Azula trusted anyone, it was Mai, because that woman followed because she wanted to, not out of fear.

Mai had been knocked out of the fight, but hadn't been in the room while they escaped it. Zuko figured that she'd regained consciousness and, seeing the odds, had elected to slip away. Mai was in no way a coward, but she was practical to the extreme. He knew that.

Aang stopped, and went behind them, towards the Firebenders. His eyes had cleared, and it seemed that, for now at least, his grief had been pushed away, leaving only grim determination. For now, to Zuko, that was enough.

"I know this place, guys! I'll stall them and come join you later! Just go where Appa is!" the young Avatar told them. Katara immediately shook her head.

"No, Aang! That's too risky! There's about ten Firebenders out there!" she said.

"I can handle them! I know this place better than they do!" he countered.

"Still…!"

Zuko had stopped reluctantly, gritting his teeth. He knew every second counted now, and he was about to tell the two to stop arguing and move, when he felt Toph squirm against him violently. She struck him on the shoulder suddenly, releasing his hold, and slipped down to the ground.

The moment she touched solid ground, her face changed, and she closed her eyes. It was a moment of bliss, Zuko supposed, as Toph was blind since birth, but had managed to gain a type of site from feeling the ground beneath her. It had made her one of the most extraordinary Earthbender he'd ever seen.

Her battered face suddenly lit up in a fierce, dangerous grin, and the one named to Blind Bandit drew herself up despite her wounds. She seemed to mutter something to herself, then nod as if agreeing, before turning towards the approaching Firebenders, her feet spread wide, and her hands in front of her.

And then Zuko knew what was about to happen, and dashed towards the others. He took hold of the surprised Aang and Katara, and forced them backward. He ignored their stunned struggling, his eyes fixed on Toph.

"Grab hold of something. NOW!" he shouted, letting them go. He quickly grabbed hold of the nearest piece of structure firmly rooted in the ground. They stared at him, blinking. "She's about to Earthbend!" he added. That got them moving.

The Firebenders approached, but at that moment, Toph uttered a cry of hatred. She stamped her feet down, and lifted her arms. The Earth element, which had always been close to her, responded at once.

The buildings, the ground, everything from the area suddenly rose up to the side, as if two great, giant hands were reaching up. The Firebenders stopped, gaping, and began to back up in fear of the power being arrayed against them.

And then Toph slammed her hands down, and the giants forms made of earth, rock and other debris brought themselves down on the enemy. Tons upon tons of Earthbended matter crushed them, manipulated by the mind of a tortured, and supremely skilled user.

For fifty meters, everything had been ripped apart, torn from the ground, and sent back down with a vengeance. More complete destruction, Zuko had never seen. In a rare instant, fright took hold of him. And then Toph laughed.

It was a hollow, joyless laugh. It was a vengeful, hurt and confused tone. Fear was instantly replaced by pity, and he went to her, in time to see her raise her fist in victory, then collapse. The powerful thrust had been all she'd had in her.

Aang and Katara stared around, then stared at her. They didn't seem to know what to say. The man didn't blame them for it. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing which needed to be said.

He picked her up, looked at her troubled, battered face and body, and hugged her closer. He wasn't good with words, and he wasn't comfortable with feelings, but there was no denying the affection he felt at that moment. He let it linger, than gave the other two a look.

"She's one of the most powerful Earthbenders alive." He said simply.

"I believe it." Katara squeaked. Aang nodded fiercely, eyes wide.

"But we need to get out of here fast. Mai wasn't with them. She's alive, and she's not someone you want to have at your back for long. We need to go to Appa, then to my ship."

The Avatar nodded, and unfolded his staff into a sort of kite. "I'll got get him. We'll meet your halfway." He said, and then he was off, gliding with great speed. Zuko hoped no one would spot him. The prince looked at Katara.

"Will you try to heal her, when we're back?" he asked. He knew that some Waterbenders had great healing skills.

"I'd have done it whatever you asked." She muttered. "Now, come on. Lets get her out of this place." she looked around the shattered Southern Air Temple, and shivered. "This place… its become too horrible to stand. Its dead. Life's gone out of it long ago."

Zuko shook his head at that. "You have no idea what you just said really means, these days. But you'll find out." He said and, ignoring her questioning look, he began to walk down the path they had taken to infiltrate the sad place.

* * *

Suki, for the last of far too many times for her taste, wondered why she'd taken Jet's offer to join his renegade group. Although they had a way of fighting a bit more reminiscent of how a Kyoshi Warrior fought, their morals were nothing if not criminal at times. Even Bumi, it was said, was beginning to look at them all rather balefully.

"There's no need to attack those people, Jet," she tried to tell her leader one more time, "They're not involved in the war effort at all. They're civilians."

"They're Imperials. Fire Nation." He responded at once. "That's reason enough. Don't you see what they've done to the world?!?" He turned to face her. His frame, although lanky, was rather tall and impressive. Suki, however, had been threatened by even more dangerous people before. She never flinched.

"The Firelord, and his daughter are responsible. Maybe the army's leadership too." she attempted to reason, "but these people aren't part of the leadership! They're innocent!"

That was the wrong thing to say. The Duke smirked at the word, while Pipsqueak, the immense strongman of the inner circle, only shook his head. Longshot only stood in a corner, unreadable. She wasn't reaching them, she realized.

But then she saw Smellerbee's look. The tomboy had developed into a rather nice-looking woman, but her dress hadn't changed much, making her sex well-hidden. Smellerbee looked at Suki, and the warrior saw, for a fleeting instant, the doubt dwelling there.

There was no doubt in Jet's mind, however. The bandit only grinned with slight contempt at her words, and snorted. He then turned his back on her and began to talk to the others. It was rejection if Suki had ever seen it, and she wasn't about to stand and argue. She might do something she'd regret.

So she stalked out of the cabin, which, like the rest of that or any other bases Jet's followers had built, was situated in a tree. It afforded them an excellent view of their surroundings, and also made it easier to prepare for an attack.

Still, the group was small, and a determined attack might wipe it out – assuming someone knew of its location. The young, athletic woman sighed, and came farther from the cabin, leaning on a branch and looking into the darkness, as night had fallen long ago.

_Jets keeping on with those plans, and they're always getting more reckless. He's endangering everyone, and he doesn't see it. _she thought, and then something crossed her mind, _Sokka wouldn't be like that. He wouldn't be reckless, and he'd care about his people more._

She bit her lips. She hadn't meant to think of the Water Tribesman, but she couldn't help it. The Resistance leader had been on her thoughts increasingly for the past several weeks, and working with him made it worse.

She had met Sokka years ago, when the young man, then more bumbling but full of life and caring, had washed ashore Kyoshi Island. Their first meetings had been… vindictive and unpleasant, to say the least. Yet, within a few days, he'd already wormed his way into her heart.

And when Kyoshi Island had been attacked, and most of her warriors had been dragged off by the Imperials after being defeated, Sokka had been there for her, helping her lead the remnants of her group, until they managed to find the young man's group, and their leader, Hakoda.

During that trip, Sokka and she had become lovers. Proud though she was, the young warrior had never felt as soothed as when she was held in his arms. She had wanted to remain with him forever.

But her duty came first. She needed to find her Sisters, and free them. When Jet had offered a way to directly find some information by joining his group, she'd left. Weeks later, Hakoda died, as well as he'd lived: remarkably.

She hadn't gone to him. She'd thought she'd found two of her sisters, and was ready to save them. When she discovered that it had been a false lead, she had been ready to return. By then, it had been too late.

The man she loved had changed. Grief had changed him. He'd become harder, and assumed Hakoda's place as leader. He looked at her with betrayal in his eyes, which speared her very soul. Even her few remaining sisters had shown disapproval. Unable to deal with the hostility, she'd returned to Jet's group.

_I should have stayed. Asked him, even begged him, for forgiveness. _she thought, also the last of many times. _But I couldn't. I was always too damned proud. And now what? What am I doing here, in this group?_

She felt a presence nearby, and tensed. When she looked and saw Smellerbee and Longshot together, she was surprised. Not that they were together – the two were clearly more than friends at this point – but that they'd come to seek her out. They weren't the type.

"Suki?" Smellerbee asked in her raspy voice. "Can we talk?"

Now she raised an eyebrow. "What about?" she asked pointedly.

Now even Longshot looked mildly uncomfortable. Smellerbee, for her part, seemed to have gone speechless. She looked at the silent man who, after a long moment, gave her a nod, and gently squeeze her shoulder. It seemed to give her the strength to go on.

"To talk… about all this." Her voice became a throaty whisper. "About Jet, about what we're doing! Please! We don't see a way out, anymore!"

Suki blinked, and then sighed with cautious relief. She had thought that all of Jet's inner circle had been completely corrupted by Jet's quest for revenge. Those two, however, they seemed earnest. They seemed to see some of the darkness closing in on them.

She hadn't found her sisters, and she couldn't return to her beloved Sokka. One day, she'd beg his forgiveness, and pray he gave it. But not today. She still had people to save. People, in her opinion, who were worth saving. She hoped that he might understand, one day. She wished it with all of her heart, even though she wondered if she deserved it anymore.

"Yeah," she whispered at last, "We can talk about that."


	9. Chapter Eight

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Eight**

Sokka found he didn't dislike Bumi's private meeting room. Although somewhat simplistic, the interior was made exquisitely, with actual stone carvings inlaid in the wall. Sokka looked at Bumi with a raised eyebrow.

"The history of Omashu," the old man grinned, "From its founding up to my own, humbled little ascension. Now, what would you like? We've got fruits, nuts, bread, some deer meat from our hunting parties. How about it?"

"Sounds fine, but…" Sokka began. The aged Earthbender then slapped himself with his personal, snorting chuckle.

"Silly, silly me!" he exclaimed, "You Water Tribesmen love fish! We'll, you're in luck! We've got underground rivers, and there's some mighty fine white snaptrouts from those waters! Trust me, with some nuts and a good little prune sauce, you'll love it."

"Bumi…sir…," Sokka sighed. His father, Hakoda, had been better at gaining the old man's full attention. _He was better at a lot of things. _He lifted his arms in surrender, then crashed backwards, right into the bundle of cushions the old man had bid him sit in. "Fish is fine. Thank you."

"That's the spirit!" The old man chuckled, picking up a bowl of dried fruits and putting it in front of him, before setting himself on a large cushion of his own. Sokka noticed that there was a slight wince on his face as he settled down. He decided to ignore it, though there was a pang of concern in his heart.

He looked up at the perfectly smooth ceiling – everything was perfect, a normal fact when one consider Bumi's renowned Earthbending abilities. He was frowning, he knew. The subjects he was bringing brought little cheer to his mind.

Then again, he felt that few things brought him real cheer these days. His optimistic days seemed so far removed, that he kept clinging to hope for hope's sake, and nothing else. _That, and because dad wouldn't give up_.

"I think Azula'll move soon." He muttered, "There's been troop movements."

"I know, I know. The lil' girl's the patient, arrogant kind. She goes slowly, and she thinks it doesn't matter if we see her moves. Sadly, she's been largely proven right for the last few years."

"My sources have gone dry. No word from Ty Lee, either." He pursed his lips, then tightened them. "That's bad news. She's not the type to go silent."

Spies had been in Ba Sing Se before the city was taken, working to prepare the terrain for the Resistance. But they had gone silent. Something, Sokka knew, was bound to happen. The question was _what _and, most importantly, _when_.

"I'm going to have to ask a favour, Bumi." He said at last, reluctantly. At that, the old man looked up from the dried raisins he was munching. He saw the eyes change briefly, revealing the man who had seen the conflict since it beginnings, and was determined to see its end.

"A favour? Like what?" His tone was less jovial than before, too. _Damn that old fool. He probably already knows._

"I'm asking for a meeting of three other of the closest group leaders along with us." He mused. "With them, we'll be five, and we'll be able to make a vote on what I'll propose."

At this, the old man sighed, and Sokka sat up fully, looking at him through the lights of the many light globes in the room. Bumi looked tired at that moment. He looked like what they often forgot he was: an ancient Earthbender, who had fought more battles than twenty master Earthbenders combined. A man dead tired of fighting.

"It's about Jet, isn't it?" he asked.

"He's out of control, Bumi." Sokka answered simply. The former King smirked joylessly.

"Jet's always been out of control. None of us have ever liked him. So what's new?"

Sokka wondered about that. Jet's group had been formed before there had been a Resistance. Initially, it had been a relationship between equals. However, Jet's methods were… extreme. Cold-blooded at best. And so the Resistance, founded by Iroh, Bumi and Sokka's father, had expanded. Now, Jet's group was minor at best, and a thorn in the Resistance's side.

_Oh, is that all? _A voice snickered within Sokka. _And it's got nothing to do with Suki? Admit it, kid, you're jealous. No, not just jealous! Scared! You're scared! _Sokka did his best to ignore the voice, but it gnawed at him. And a part of it, he was afraid, was true.

"They're getting worse. They're jeopardizing missions. When we work with them, they often forget themselves and kill prisoners." He glowered at that, "Prisoners, Bumi! I can't stand that! Imperial or not, prisoners aren't supposed to be harmed!"

"That's true. I agree with you on that." Bumi mused, "We can't hope to win anything if we don't treat our enemies like their lives are worth nothing to us. We have to keep ourselves decent. We need to be an example to follow."

"Spoken like Iroh, there." Sokka stated, and he smiled as he remembered the kind but tough former General. Iroh's wisdom had made the Resistance in so many ways, it was ironic that the man himself was a Firebender, and one of the most proficient of his day, to boot.

"And what about Suki, then?" Bumi mused, looking straight at Sokka, who stopped smiling. "The young lady who, despite what you think, loves you so much? Do you consider her part of their group? I'll call the others, but I have to ask you: are you going to have what happens to Jet, happen to her?"

Sokka closed his eyes, settling back into the cushion. That was the question he'd never dared to ask himself. When he reminded himself of Suki, all he felt these days, were pain and doubt. Not about her, but about himself.

"I don't know, Bumi." He said at last, "I don't know. I love her, I think. Yeah, I love her. But I don't know where she's standing anymore."

"Then you should go and ask her, my young friend." The old man answered, "Ask her, beg her to come with you. If she doesn't respond, well, you'll know something at least!" Bumi showed the bowl again. "Now, how about some raisins?"

* * *

Ty Lee looked up at the enormous wall which circled the greatest city in the world. She knew it was nearly two thousand feet high and about five hundred feet thick, a feat of construction, if only for its sheer mass.

She's heard it had taken three centuries to fully complete it. She believed. It had allowed Ba Sing She to survive great invasions, and the attempts of powerful generals, the most notable being Chin the Conqueror and, more recently, Iroh, the Dragon of the West.

It had withstood all external enemies, until Azula. She had brought her army outside, but the greatest of her work had been from within. She had played the Earth Generals against one another, had weakened their forces, and had made it so that, in the end, no one could mount a serious defence when the Drill had finally penetrated on its third attempt.

The wall had been under repair ever since, and the Drill remained, more as a symbol of Imperial supremacy than anything else. And now, she had the task of going over that wall. A challenge, even for a person as fit as most men or women never managed to get.

She was looking up from the bottom of the wall, careful not to be seen. She had scrounged up common clothing to wear, and had arranged herself so she looked as little like a Fire noblewoman as she could, but she didn't wish to press her luck on the matter.

And she knew she'd have to make the attempt by herself. She didn't dare try to contact anyone. The dangerous game Azula was playing precluded her making any sort of move towards the Resistance.

Pursuit had been heavy enough – there were search parties throughout the city now – but not thorough enough that she couldn't find a way to slip through. That alone was enough to set all sorts of alarm bells ringing loud in the acrobatic warrior's head.

"You're not a fool, Azula." She muttered to herself, "You're crazy, that's for sure, and you're one cruel woman, even as a friend. But the day you act like an idiot is the day the sun doesn't rise in the morning."

She looked around. No one except two peddlers who were arguing about something, and a farmer trudging on to whatever place he felt he had to work. There was no indication that Ty Lee was being watched. To her, it only meant that those following her were very good at their job.

Strangely, the idea that she was being followed didn't bother her all that much. Actually, it made it easier. There were only faint pursuit, and the fact that she was followed so dutifully meant the Imperial Princess pretty much wanted her to get away. It was getting to contact the Resistance later which would prove the real problem.

"Cool!" was all she uttered, with a wild grin plastered on her face. The more challenging, the more dangerous, was the better for her.

She began to walk towards the place where people were gathered as 'repair detail' – largely forced labour, although volunteers were accepted readily enough. Scaffholdings and strewn material was scattered all around the major rebuilding works.

Farther on, Ty Lee spotted the monolithic, metal tube which made up the drill. The land around it was left fallow. She understood, and sympathized with, the fact that no Earth farmer wished to work close to the thing, the symbol of the Earth Kingdom's fall.

The young woman went amongst the people gathered there to receive instructions. Although there were many Imperial guards, she never put on the hood of her cloak. Such things actually drew far more attention than a face, as did looking anything but bored.

The man in charge of her work detail probably didn't notice her joining in, as he was busy shouting at the people gathered there. If he did, he didn't show any notice. She doubted Azula would use such a loud man. _No her style, nope._

"You listening, Earth trash?!?" the man was shouting. "You're gonna work at the base of the wall today. Clean up the stuff there, and give what can be used to the teams ferrying the rock upward. Got it?! Get to it, and no complaints!" he spat in what seemed like disgust.

What saddened Ty Lee was that no one in her group said or did anything. No one complained, grumbled, or glared subtly. All shuffled to their work with barely a word going between them. They didn't look scared of the man, or his guards, at all.

No, they looked like something far more frightening to Ty Lee: they looked defeated. Their people, their nation, had fallen, and the blow had been too much for many of them. They had lost what fight remained in them long ago, she saw.

_Ba Sing Se… the cultural and social heart of the ancient Earth Kingdom. A fate worse than death, in a way, _she reasoned, _because, at least, the people who died fighting died with… hope, I guess, however small. Now, hope's dead, and its… its partly my fault._

That was the worst part, right there. Like it or not, she had participated in the takeover. She had been surprised that it had taken the Earth Kingdom's fall to actually fully galvanize the Resistance. Perhaps, had these people had something to center themselves around to begin with…

_No point on crying on it, is there? Let's just concentrate on getting out of here as best as I can. _She'd been going to the wall project for three days, dodging search parties, ignoring whoever was watching her. In three more days, the common guards would be so used to her presence, she'd be able to take off before they could react to the move.

Of course, that wouldn't mean that her troubles would be over. Ba Sing Se, getting out of the city… that was the easy part. That was the beginning of the game Azula had decided to play with the young warrior.

Ty Lee moved about to her abstract task, thinking about the dangers which she would be subject to from the Resistance and the Empire one she was out. Few knew of her true involvements, making her very existence precarious at best.

She thought about that very hard for a moment. And then, slowly, a gleeful smile appeared on her face, contrasting with the hopeless looks around her. The Empire would hunt her? The Resistance would attempt to kill her? She'd likely die to save the people of an enemy city?

"Just how fun can life get?!?" she told herself under her breath, as she continued to toil, for now, like a good little worker.

* * *

It was a testament to Toph's sheer will, as far as Katara was concerned, that her spirit hadn't been broken by the torture inflicted upon her body. Ever since their harrowing experience in the Air Temple and their subsequent escape, the Waterbender had taken it upon herself to help the blind, rather short woman in treating her wounds.

"You use healing roughly." The woman griped, her gaze not quite meeting Katara's, the fierceness of it being, however, quite clear.

"What does that mean?" She answered as she wove the water on the burns as Toph sat in the makeshift bathtub Zuko had ordered be brought into the room. She tried not to snap, although she had never liked criticism of her Waterbending skills.

"You're clumsy. Who was you teacher?" The woman known, Katara had heard, as the Blind Bandit had a scathing tongue.

Katara glared for a moment, then calmed herself down. Toph had just endured weeks of torment, and was holding up better than the Water Tribeswoman would have, had she been subjected to the same. If scathing questions and sarcasm where Toph's way to cope, she figured it was something she had earned some rights to doing.

Still, it was with gritted teeth that she answered. "I didn't learn from anyone. I learned it myself. Picked it up, bit by bit, through practice."

The blind woman, whose hair sometimes fell over her eyes and face, gave a small start, and Katara felt a swell of pride from that, although she knew how childish that was. _Hah! Didn't expect that I was a self-learned Waterbender, did you?_

The naked woman chewed on that as Katara continued to work on her wounds. Her mouth worked, opened, closed, worked again. It seemed that the Blind Bandit was at a loss for words, and not happy about that fact at all.

"No training from anyone?" She grunted at last. "And you picked up healing and battle moves?"

"Looks like it."

There was another grunt, less scathing than the ones which had followed the end of most sentences since the beginning of the conversation. It seemed that the subject was closed as far as Toph was concerned however, as she opened a whole new one.

"Where's Twinkle Toes?" She must have felt Katara's slight confusion, for she supplied more information after a moment. "The bald kid, the one Flame Brains keeps calling Avatar."

"Oh, you mean Aang." Another thing about Toph, was that she didn't use real names all that often. Rather, she invented nicknames. Something Katara was no getting used to.

"He's probably, I don't know… talking to Appa, or walking around the ship with…" she hesitated at that point, despite herself, "…with Zuko."

She had thought that the experience at the Air Temple would make Aang shun Zuko for his being Firebender. While she – reluctantly – wouldn't call it fair treatment anymore, she thought it would happen after seeing what the Firebenders had done to the place.

Aang, however, hadn't thought of it that way. Far from it. Ever since they'd returned to the ship, the young monk had taken to talking to Zuko regularly. Although he talked to Katara a lot, he seemed to have taken a certain liking to the rather brooding man.

As for Zuko, he'd given his personal room to Toph's treatment and convalescence, which was where Katara now treated her. He'd also seemed to fully accept Aang's company, although his queries showed his main concern was for the blind woman.

"I think Zuko's worried. You didn't talk to him much after you… well…" she began tentatively.

"After I woke up on the ship? Guess so. He'll live. He's faced tougher things." There was a slight alteration in Toph's voice as she talked, but her expression remained closed.

The Waterbender didn't think so. She didn't believe Zuko could dismiss Toph from his mind that simply. Not after the way he'd held onto the unconscious woman on the way to the ship, or the, gently, nearly loving way he'd laid the battered Earthbender on his cabin bed to rest.

But she wasn't about to say so. She had seen the two enough to guess that their relationship, although certainly deep, was awkward at best, born from two large egos and two deep streaks of stubbornness. They weren't people you talked to about love. Not openly, at least.

She had never been someone who ever held back what she thought needed to be said. However, she found she sort of liked Toph, and she was beginning to feel a grudging respect for the proud, stern Zuko. If she respected them both, than she felt she had to respect the way they did things, even if she didn't agree.

Her mother's way, and one she'd taken to heart.

So Katara swallowed what she wanted to say, and instead said. "The burns aren't really deep. I think you'll heal up enough by the time you get wherever you're supposed to go."

"Good to hear. Hard enough with Flame Brains, I don't wanna have Boomerang Face getting all mushy. He does that too much." Toph said with a throaty chuckle.

"Boomerang Face? Who's that?" She asked mildly as she wove.

"Ah, just the guy who leads the place Zuko and I live in. Sokka's his name."

The water splashed down, Waterbending forgotten. Her hands stayed poised a moment, before falling to her sides. Toph turned her head in her direction immediately, once again, strangely feeling her presence and mood.

"What's up?" She asked tonelessly.

"Sokka? You said…Sokka?" she muttered, as if from far away. And then, suddenly, she was upon the girl, seizing her by the arms frantically. "Tell me about him!"

"Hey, hey! What gives?!? Are you crazy?!?" The blind woman grunted, freeing herself with surprising strength despite her rather short, somewhat slight – if athletic – frame. Katara managed to regain a hold quickly, however.

"Please! Tell me everything… Sokka! Is he a from the Water Tribes? Does he look like me a bit? Because… because if he does…"

Toph raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Because, if he does… it might be my brother!"

* * *

Aang closed his eyes, trying to grasp what he'd been told. Even more than Katara, who had only been able to offer general lines, Zuko had been a font of knowledge of past and present events. After days of constant badgering from the young Airbender, he'd finally accepted to tell about it.

"One hundred and ten years of conflict?" He asked, and was glad to see his voice didn't quaver. The number alone was daunting.

"Give or take a few weeks… or months." The scarred man noted, "You'd have to ask an actual historian to know for sure. But that's about it, yes."

Aang was resting his back against Appa's sleeping body, while Zuko himself sat on a crate, looking a bit uncomfortable, clearly not used to small talk. People looked at them at times, but never bothered them.

Eleven decades. If he'd gone through those decades – if he'd managed to survive all that time – he'd be an ancient man. Since Avatars tended to live a long time, he supposed he'd still be around.

"If I'd been there, when the Temples were attacked…" he mused. The possibilities, by themselves, were painful. He felt his heart conflict.

"You'd be dead." The Firebender mused with finality. "You'd be nowhere near ready. You'd have taken down a few more, but not enough to change things. The attacks were overwhelming in numbers and ferocity. Trust me, you'd be dead."

Aang, in some fashion, wanted to believe that. He focused on that idea, forcing the pain to go away. Like every single time he did, the pain only subsided, it didn't disappear. _How long will I keep feeling this pain? Maybe until I'm dead?_

"You're strong, Avatar." Zuko mused suddenly, his golden eyes fixed on Aang.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I know you're suffering." The man shrugged as a gentle, salty breeze wafted through. Appa grunted, almost awakened, then returned to his slumber. "I'd be devastated. Most would be worse off than me, I think. And you're keeping it together."

The youth wanted to say how badly that was all show, but he figured that saying that was moot. It wouldn't achieve anything. Besides, he supposed that Zuko had a point, although he couldn't quite see it that way.

Besides, what was he supposed to do? He was bright enough to realize that no amount of grief would bring his people back, no matter how hard he wished for it.

"I…guess it's because… I gotta keep moving forward." He coughed, smiled as much as he could. "For them, right? I want to believe some survived, that I'll find them one day, but… even then… I need to keep going for their sake."

"That's why I said you're remarkable, Avatar." He sighed, "Pain of that kind… I know something similar. But I didn't recover nearly as fast as you did."

"Could you do me a favour?" Aang asked quickly. The man blinked. "Could you… just call me Aang? I mean, I call you Zuko."

The man looked at Aang for a long moment, as if trying to decide what to do or say. Zuko, the boy remembered, had called him by name before, but since witnessing his power, since coming back to the ship, he had been far too proper for Aang's own taste. Although he'd know why it had been that way – Zuko seemed to become stiff when concerned about someone- it had rankled.

"It would… be strange to me." the man mused, "The current irony of my situation's weird enough."

Aang looked at him expectantly at that. Zuko was rather loath to talk about himself. All the boy had learned so far was that he had once been rather dedicated to the then-Fire Nation goals, but that events had piled upon him, convincing him otherwise.

Still, it seemed that concern for Toph had put Zuko in a rather talkative mood, which suited Aang just fine.

"I didn't say it in so many words, but if you'd come to me ten years ago," the scarred warrior mused with a slight grin, "I'd have you in chains, and would be sailing home, right to the Firelord's very throne room."

"You don't feel like you could have been the cruel type."

"I wasn't. I always believed in treating people as fairly as possible, and I do hate unnecessary bullying, and any needless violence." The man muttered, rubbing his chin a moment. "I guess you could have called me a… a pathetically desperate man. Almost as bad, really."

The reluctant Avatar was about to inquire further, when pain suddenly clogged his skull. Pain, and sadness. He grasped it with a gasp, and saw Zuko wince and look about. Within moments, however, the pain went away. Aang sighed in relief, but was surprised when Zuko spoke sharply.

"Felt that, didn't you? We're lucky, it was just a tiny area." The man stated as the boy nodded. They stared at each other for a moment, and then both turned as the door leading to the deck all but flew from its hinges, revealing a rather excited Katara. Spotting them, she quickly crossed the distance.

Zuko was on his feet immediately. "Is Toph…?" he asked, but he never had a chance to get farther than that, as Katara's own voice snapped out.

"You work under my brother! Bring me to him! I need to see him!" She snapped angrily.

Zuko blinked. "Brother? Your… you mean Sokka? Sokka's your brother? Wait… he did mention…" he muttered, clearly taken off-guard by the discussion. Katara wasn't willing to let the man before her regain control, however.

"Right! I want to see him! Bring me to your base, your hideout, wherever it is!" She asked. Her tense face and taut voice didn't reassure Aang all that much.

"Whoa, whoa! Katara?" Aang asked, and she glared at him by default. He cringed, but stood his ground. "W-why do you want to see him that badly?"

Katara looked at them both for a moment, frustrated, before putting her hands on her hips. She then proceeded to turn around and stalk away, leaving the two males in the wake of her tense silence. They then looked at each other, blinking.

"That Sokka's in trouble." Aang finally quipped. The Firebender sighed and shrugged.

"That, Av…that, Aang, is nothing new." And the two exchanged a chuckle as Appa grunted in his sleep.

* * *

Suki didn't think that spying on the work being done on the walls of Ba Sing Se would actually give her any clues as to what was going on. Still, what she'd seen outside the walls had been enough to make her aware of the enormity of the situation.

The Imperial Army, after a decade, had managed to replenish at least part of their losses incurred while they battled the last standing armies the failing Earth Kingdom still possessed. They were scattered throughout the land, holding it for the Firelord.

Until recently, that was. Suki had seen, with her own eyes, that at least two armies were now gathered, in ordered camps, all around the area. It was almost like the city was being besieged despite being taken. Her own estimates told her that no less than twenty thousand troops awaited whatever orders Princess Azula would issue.

She had told Jet that she would scout out a place likely to have a large gathering of soldiers. In purely literal terms, that was exactly what she had done. However, the scale of the forces were something which even the Resistance gathered together would find somewhat intimidating.

"At least they might know something about this." She told herself from her vantage point on a rocky outcropping giving both some protection and a superb view of the surrounding countryside.

That was what really bothered her. She had joined Jet – leaving her few remaining sisters, and seemingly breaking Sokka's heart – to help those Kyoshi warriors who had been captured. However, she'd slowly realized that Jet's more varied targets were always small, and often yielded little information.

Burned with Sokka's group, her trust in Jet weak to begin with, she'd begun doing forays on her own, and had taken more and more time on them. She had made a mistake, she knew now, in joining that group. The only reason she stayed now, was because she still believed she might sway the group away from the self-destructive path.

As she observed the wall, her keen eyes spotted a figure dashing away from the rest of the group. Immediately, two other figures – probably guards – rushed it, only to fall swiftly. The figure continued to run with a rather amazing speed, pursued by several figures.

A flash of crimson, then another. Firebenders were attacking the person who was fleeing. Surprising the agile warrior once again, the figure seemed to anticipate the strikes, deftly dodging them as it continued to increase the distance between pursued and pursuers.

It wasn't long before the Fire soldiers stopped, giving up on the chase, and the figure still continued to run, becoming larger as she neared Suki's own hiding place. The Kyoshi warrior saw that it was a female in drab, ordinary clothing.

She however quickly assessed, against her hopes, that she couldn't be one of her sisters. None she knew was that fast, and she was moving the wrong way for a former Kyoshi style-trained fighter. _Then, who is that? Who fights like that?_

She then recognized the face. Years ago, she had fought against the face's owner, and had been soundly defeated. She still remembered the woman's jabs and kicks, depriving Suki of power. Only a desperate strike had allowed her to disengage.

That face. She knew it well. _Ty Lee, one of the best fighters in the whole Empire, they say. _And Suki believed the sayings. _But what's she doing here? And why? _She subtly shifted her poise, ready to strike at the approaching girl if need be.

As she neared the place, Ty Lee slowed down, and looking left and right, began to make her way forward, this time with calculated caution. It took Suki a moment to realize that the other woman might truly be feeling her approach.

As the acrobatic fighter made her way down the rocks, hiding herself from view from the now-stopped contingent, the Kyoshi warrior dropped down, her fans ready, poised to strike. It didn't surprise her when the commonly-dressed Imperial immediately pivoted and entered an easy fighting stance.

"You felt me?" she asked.

"A bit. You're better than most." Although Ty Lee smiled, her eyes were calculating already, fighting plans forming. Suki knew that to wait would likely mean her certain defeat. Consequently, she attacked at once.

She struck forward, to find the nimble woman already dodging, flipping backward. Deftly, Suki extended her foot to strike at the exposed warrior, but Ty Lee seemed to twist in mid-air, narrowly evading the blow, landing on her feet and jabbing the leg with two fingers before Suki could fully regain her balance.

It was like receiving an electrical shock. She grunted and tried to move away, but her leg wobbled a bit, trembling. _I was unprepared, and that's lethal when fighting someone like her, _she told herself grimly.

She swiped forward with her fans, and succeeding in connecting once. The other woman grunted. Before Suki could even enjoy her small victory, however, the enemy's arm came forward, imprisoning her fan and immobilizing her left arm. With her free arm, Ty Lee jabbed several times, at certain points of the shoulder. The entire arm became a dead weight.

Suki attempted to recover, but Ty Lee ducked under her swipe, sweeping her feet from under her. The Kyoshi warrior went down heavily, and found the enemy crouching over her before she could even think through what had happened.

_As good as ever. Fast and sure, like a lightning bolt. _Suki couldn't help but marvel at the quick efficiency with which the other woman fought. She smirked painfully as she looked up.

"I should've waited until you dropped your guard before attacking." She analyzed. The other woman nodded with the same amiable grin. "Careless of me. So… what happens now?"

Ty Lee seemed to consider that for a moment, then grinned widely, shrugging. It was the shrug of someone who had made an instant decision, something the acrobat had been know to be fond of making.

"Now?" Ty Lee said happily, "Now, you make yourself useful so I can save thousands of innocent lives."

Before Suki could process that statement, much less respond to it, Ty Lee's hand snapped towards her face. The Kyoshi warrior saw stars for a moment, and then was plunged into blackness.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Nine**

Aang was walking through strange lands once again. This time, however, he couldn't quite make out any shapes. When he'd try to focus on an object, it would shift away, as if fleeing from him. It only added to his confusion.

"What is this place?" he wondered. He didn't quite remember how he got here.

Although the scene seemed to shift back and forth, transiting from one image to another, the young monk managed to get the gist of it. Once moment, he was deep within a primordial jungle, hearing noises that no human heard these days.

Another moment, he was standing on the peak of a volcano, watching as the lava slid down the side into the rocky valley below. In yet another, he saw villages, towns, set within the side of the mountains or within the moist jungles. There was only one place which had these different elements.

"The Fire Nation." He mused, "It can't be anywhere else. But why am I seeing this? Is this some kind of dream? A vision?"

"Correct, Aang." A voice told him. The young Monk suddenly noticed that a man was standing beside him. The boy took a step back, looking upon an old man, with white hair and beard, looking at the images with mingled fondness and sadness.

Aang noticed that the old man was dressed in the garb of a master Firebender, one following the Firebending Way of Renewal, the opposite to the Way of Scouring. In a moment, he knew who that man was, and gasped.

"You're… but… you're… Avatar Roku!" he gasped. The old man smiled kindly.

"Yes, Aang. I am Roku. I wish my first meeting with you would have been through more…peaceful times." The old man sighed at that, and the sadness in his eyes deepened.

"Why… if this is a vision… are you here to… why are you…?" Aang privately called himself an idiot, but he couldn't quite get over the sudden meeting. He was quite tongue-tied. Fortunately, the other man seemed to recognize that.

"I will answer as much as I can in due time. For now, you must know that I can speak to you. Your mind has opened enough, and the thinning line between the Spirit World and the Mortal World allows me to manifest myself with more ease than I should."

"Well…great!" Aang stated the first thing he thought of, but the old man shook his head slightly.

"Hardly, Aang. Anything but great, I fear. You bear a heavy burden as Avatar. Heavier than even mine."

"I know," Aang said, keeping a hold of his grief, "The Fire Nation… it attacked the rest of the world. There's a huge war going on… and my people…"

"Yes… your people…" Roku was silent for a moment, as if holding something back with reluctance. Finally, he spoke again, calmly, but with a weary finality. "But you don't understand. The Fire Nation has won the war itself. Your task… but there is no need for that now… you will know about it soon enough. You will have no choice but to see it."

Aang didn't like what Roku was saying. Not only was it cryptic, but it seemed to say that his powers would be useless in the fight. After seeing what had happened to his people, using that power to right that wrong had been one way to deal with the grief.

"What do you mean, Roku? I'm the Avatar! There's gotta be something I can do!" he protested.

"You are the Avatar… in name." Roku corrected, this time a bit sternly, "In fact? In fact, you are only an highly skilled Airbender. Without mastery of the other three elements, you can never hope to fully unlock your potential… physical and spiritual."

To Aang, this simplified matters. At the same time, however, the daunting task of learning three more elements was rather overwhelming. He had mastered Airbending faster than anyone since Yangshen herself, but to learn the other three.

"Learn them? As, like, right now?" he mumbled.

"As fast as you possibly can. The Fire Nation has broken the Balance of the World for too long, and your absence have heightened things in recent years. The World needs you, Aang." Again, a weary tone entered the old man's voice.

Aang took a step backward. "Its just… not possible." He said, "Gyatso told me… Avatars take… years… learning the other elements…" Suddenly, as he spoke, the old man's image began to fade.

Roku looked to the side, as if unsurprised, grim-faced. "The others need me. I will see you again, Aang. Remember… Air is followed by Water, then by Earth, then by Fire. Their cycle, and yours. Remember." At that, the old man began to fully fade from view, and the shifting images as well.

"Avatar Roku...!" Aang began, and then he woke up, finding himself in his cabin. He felt more tired than he had going to sleep. "…wait." He muttered glumly. He put his hands over his face, taking a deep breath. This, in a word, had been intense.

_The world needs me to learn the other elements quickly. But I already knew that, didn't I? With the so-called Empire taking everything. _He told himself. _But Roku also said… that it wasn't my main task now. What did he mean?_

Aang didn't know. And, deep down, he felt that he didn't care all that much. Roku had told him something very important: he was needed. It was daunting. It was scary. But it was better than the alternative. It was the best way, in his mind, to make amends to his people. _And, especially, to you, Gyatso._

The young monk didn't know if he liked being the Avatar. He didn't know what good he would do, if he did. But he didn't want to betray the hope that he'd seen in Katara and Zuko's eyes when they looked at him. _Especially Katara, for some reason. Yeah._

For the first time in many days, Aang smiled tiredly. He had found something to cling to at last.

* * *

"She doesn't want to see me, does she?" Zuko asked. The young Waterbender blinked her eyes at him. "You know who I'm talking about. Say it the best way you want, beat around the bush if you want, the fact is that she doesn't want to see me."

Katara opened her mouth, then closed it. Then she leaned against the railing, looking over the sea. The scarred man saw that she didn't like being in the position he was putting her in. He had not choice however. She was his only link to Toph.

"No. Not right now, at least." She said.

Zuko found himself gripping the railing tightly, to his own surprise. Over the years, since his beloved uncle's death, he'd tried to curb his temper. But this was something else. This was much like the days after Iroh had been killed. Zuko, too, looked at the sea.

Katara must have been watching him, and his emotions must have shown something to her, because her tone softened considerably from her usual strong, defiant stance.

"Don't take it too hard." She mused, and there was no forced pity in her voice this time. To his surprise, it seemed genuine. "She's scared and hurt. I don't think its you she doesn't want to see. Just your…"

"Just can't take the fact that I'm a Firebender right now." He nodded. The pain lessened, just a bit. "I know. Its hard, but I know. Thank you." He said as an afterthought. Clearly, that he thanked still surprised her. _Still has prejudices. Well, can't blame her._

She coughed uncomfortably, searching for something to talk about, but finally falling silent. She had become easier to get along with, from Zuko's point of view. Ever since they had rescued Toph, her attitude towards him had been less tense, and – dare he say it – more trusting.

He saw her look at the cliffs surrounding them. It wasn't the first time she seemed intent on them. "We've learned to sail as close to the ground as possible. Every crew in the Resistance has learned it to an extent. Allows us to pass undetected at times and, if worse comes to worse, we can go to ground quickly and disappear just as swiftly."

She nodded, but her expression told him that there was something bothering her still. He wondered just what had happened between her and her brother. Whatever it was, they had issues between them which she seemed intent on settling. He pitied Sokka.

"So, did Sokka ever find my father?" she asked at length, "He was looking for him. That was… that was everything he thought about, back then." She gave Zuko a look.

Zuko wasn't used to situations like these. His mind had always been, he freely admitted it to himself, of simple situations, of simple decisions. He had gotten better as time went by, but he certainly wasn't prepared enough to answer the question the way it should be.

She continued to look at him, and then turned her expression back to the sea. Then she answered the unspoken, with a voice which, if it hadn't shaken with emotion, would have seemed perfectly calm and natural.

"Dad's dead, isn't he?" she asked, and it was said so simply, seemed to ask for closure so much, that Zuko couldn't help but nod reluctantly.

"He was a good man." He said. He knew it wouldn't help the grief, but at least she'd know Hakoda had been admired – even loved – by the younger people of the Resistance.

She nodded in a way which said that she never doubted that, but the turmoil in her face did not abate. She knew her father's fate, but could never see him again. There would be no final words, no final advice. _I understand. I wasn't with Uncle at the end._

"I'll go think about things. Just… about Toph… don't rush it, okay?" she mused, and left without looking at him. He nodded absently. Who would argue in these circumstances?

For much of his early life, Zuko had been a proud prince of the Fire Nation. He had hoped to serve his people with honor. Even after being scarred and exile, his love for his nation had never diminished.

It was hard to love what Sozin, Azulon, Ozai and now Azula had done with his people. He knew that there was a lot to answer for. But he didn't intend to have the common people suffer for it. But its leaders, he vowed, would regret all the pain they'd caused.

_I renounced my family, but I never renounced the throne, Father! _He challenged inwardly. _You and Azula… you're a disease killing everyone, even our own people. One way or another, I'll stop you. For my people. For Uncle. And, for my own conscience._

"Prince Zuko?" Jee's voice called. The prince saw the man standing nearby. He muse have a heard a part of the conversation, because he looked uncomfortable. Over the years, however, the young man had learned to trust Jee's ways. If he came to talk, something was up.

"What is it, Jee?" He asked. It was useless to ask the people from the former Fire Nation not to call him Prince – it was important to them somehow, and so Zuko let it go.

He knew it was bad before Jee even opened his mouth. The darkening of his expression said it all clearly.

"We have ships tailing us in the distance. Might be from the Air Temple's vicinity." Jee mused soberly, "They're fast enough."

"Are they catching up with us?" The prince inquired.

There was no hesitation when the man answered. "Yes, my Prince. They are closing."

Zuko considered things a moment. He considered his ship, and his crew. He knew exactly what they were capable of, and what they weren't. After considering that a moment, he made a decision.

"Let's see what they can do." He mused, then added, "And let them see what we can."

* * *

Katara hadn't seen her father in over thirteen years, when Hakoda and warriors he had gathered from his village and other villages in the region had built a small fleet and had gone to aid the Earth Kingdom in its continuing war with the Fire Nation.

Back then, she had been both saddened and proud. The former, because her father was going away on something which might well cost him his life. And the latter, because Hakoda was standing up for something right, unlike so many others of the Water Tribes.

Unlike for Sokka, she had never felt any real enmity towards his decision to leave. Hakoda couldn't have known how long he'd be away. Sokka, on the other hand, had had no choice but to see it, and had left anyway. Whatever his reasons – and time had convinced her that her brother might have felt he had no choice – she couldn't help but to resent it.

She had always wanted to see her father again, just like she still wished to see her brother. And now, she knew it would never happen. Hakoda was dead. Zuko had said so, and his expression was too pained to be dishonest.

"Oh, dad…" she muttered, her tears running down her cheeks, "I wanted to see you again. I wanted it so much!"

Suddenly, she was tired of it. A deep well of resentment burst forth from deep within her soul. Her mother had been killed, her father had been killed… and for what?!? Because of some Firelord who wanted to grab power, that's what!

"I'm tired of seeing it!" she shouted, "Tired of it, you hear me?! I can't stand seeing good people dying in a stupid war! I won't stand it! I'll stop it! I'll find a way to stop it! I'll…" she fell silent with a choke, her emotions too strong for the moment.

_How good is shouting your throat out in a small cabin? _Her inner voice taunted her. _You're not doing anything. You know what I think? I think you're angry at your brother because he actually went and tried something! You're angry because he didn't take you along!_

"Shut up!" she growled to the voice, her angered magnified by the fact that it was at least partly true. Katara had grown up without the ability to do much about a situation she hated. It galled her to no end.

She heard footsteps, quick ones. She also heard voices from outside, talking firmly but urgently about something. Even from within her cabin, she could feel that the tension on the ship had risen very high.

She opened the door, and there she saw the crewmen rushing past purposefully. She grabbed someone by the arm as he passed by, stopping him as he stared at her in some surprise.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Ships tailing us." Was what he said, and then he was rushing past her, presumably to his post.

Katara watched the man go and, after a moment of reflection, shrugged. They were being followed. It wasn't something which seemed to matter to her at the moment. She had never been a sailor, never been good with ships. There was nothing she could do.

She was about to close the door and return to her contemplation, when she heard Aang's voice. To her surprise, it was strong and vibrant, very different from the oppressed feeling she'd felt from him for the last several days. _No. He sounds… stronger._

"Zuko! I'll help! Tell me what to do!" his voice piped up, and she heard them approaching. It seemed that the discussion had been going on a moment.

"Are you certain? After everything that happened, you should take time to settle it in your mind." The prince mused.

"What good's that going to do?" Aang seemed vaguely irritated, "Gyatso'd be pretty angry if I stayed cooped up, feeling sorry about myself. He once said the Avatar could help a lot of people! So… let me HELP!"

There was a sigh. And then Zuko spoke. His voice told Katara that he wasn't agreeing with what was happening. Yet, there was a certain degree of approval in his voice. She felt that he liked what Aang had just said. _Me, too._

"Alright, if you're going to pain me about it…" the powerful swordsman and Firebender muttered, "Take that Bison of yours, and see exactly where they are. Tell me how fast they're coming. Then… well, I guess I'll see if our mad little Theo's mad thing works or not."

"Alright! I'm off!" The boy said, and Katara heard his faint steps as he ran off. Zuko heaved something which seemed – surprisingly – to almost be a chuckle, then his footsteps approached her.

She considered closing the door, but then thought about what Aang had said. His people would be angry if he did nothing, he'd said, or something like that. _What would mom and dad say? Would they say anything?_

They wouldn't, she realized. Her mother would look at her with sad eyes brimming with pity, and her father would frown in disapproval. They'd say nothing, but she saw them clearly feeling let down by their daughter.

That was a feeling Katara, whatever happened, simply couldn't abide with. Her parents had always been proud of her, she knew. She wouldn't let anything change that.

"Zuko." She said as he passed. He stopped, unsurprised, eyes inquiring. He had felt her, she knew. He simply waited for what she had to say. "Is the ship in danger?"

"Not in immediate danger, no." he answered, "But we need to prepare, just to make sure." He hesitated, then added, "Help would always be welcomed, Katara."

She gritted her teeth. Her father's death still held sway over her. But Hakoda had always been strong, even when their mother died. He'd never let anyone down. She wasn't about to tarnish something like that. If there was danger, she was going to face it like a Waterbender, and like a member of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Tell me… what I can do to help." She told him.

* * *

_They heard the roaring sound. Everyone in Taipan heard it. But few knew what it was. The young Usha could do nothing but blink as the adults looked at each other, muttering amongst themselves about what the explosion and the following sound could be._

_Then her father, dressed in his soldier's uniform, rushed towards her and his mother. He roared words to his mother, who picked her up even as the man who had always been calm and loving to her set upon a steel-reinforced crate._

"_Mama, what's papa doing?" she asked, but her mother was only staring back, at the growing sound. Finally, her father stretched his arms towards her, and her mother hugged her fiercely, so much that she actually gasped._

"_Mommy loves you, Usha. Always." She said, and she noticed the tears and terror in her eyes. Before Usha could react, however, her father had grabbed her and put her in the crate, ruffling her hair a moment, fondly._

"_Live a long life, Usha." He said, before closing the crate before she could react. There was a flare, and she felt that her father was using his Firebending – something he usually kept himself from doing. Finally, she reacted, banging on the heavy wood and metal._

"_Papa! Mama! Let me out!" she wailed, as the sound grew so loud it almost covered her voice. "LET ME OUT! MAMA! PAPA!"_

_And then the crate was hit by something, and began to tumble in all directions, leaking water in. Her wails became screams of terror, and she was jostled around. She was still screaming when a severe jolt banged her head hard against the wood, and she lost consciousness._

Usha woke up with a slight start, but refrained from uttering any sound as she did. She put a hand on her forehead, and gave a long, shuddering sigh, even as she looked at the stars shining in the sky.

"That dream again?" Sokka's voice asked softly, and she turned her head to see the slightly older man looking at her gently.

She nodded. "Yeah. After all these times, I thought I might get used to it, but… its still overwhelming." She said with a shudder. _So many years… and its still so… so…_

"Some things don't get better with time." Sokka answered, "I still dream of my mother sometimes. Still hurts, the same as when I was a kid."

She nodded. There had been harsh times afterwards. The survivors had been aided by the Fire Nation soldiers of the area, but she had denied everything. Her mind couldn't grasp what was happening, and she'd fled.

She would have died of hunger, alone and forgotten, if a man passing by hadn't seen her and taken pity on her. That man had given her food and what comfort he could. He had then brought her with him, and trained her to be strong. He, Zuko, and the elderly Iroh had given her a reason to smile again, to live and hope.

But she'd never forgotten, or forgiven, what had happened. And those who had done it.

"Are we finally going to wipe them out?" She asked, trying to keep the eagerness from her voice. From Sokka's sigh, her success was limited at best. Subtlety had never been a trait of hers, anyway.

"We need more people to decide that." The brown-haired, boomerang using man uttered, "I'll have to return in a few days. Just a quick trip to check on our group, see if Zuko's returned, or any use."

"But do you think…?" she began, but couldn't bring herself to ask fully.

The boomerang-using man shrugged. Sokka was well-known as having no love for Jet's so-called 'Freedom Fighters', but the fact that Suki was there made him hesitant on the subject at best. As the Kyoshi warrior had aided her as well, Usha also felt doubt when it came to her. _But if they give the order, I'll volunteer for their extermination!_

As ugly as the thought of revenge was, she couldn't help herself. Iroh had worked hard to calm the rage she felt, and Zuko had probably taught her skills in order to save her mind, but she couldn't help herself. When she saw Jet or one of his people, she ached to use her swords on those very people.

"Don't get drawn in, Usha." Sokka mused, as if reading her thoughts, "You're worth better than that."

"Are you sure, sir?" she retorted, "I wonder, sometimes."

"I don't. Iroh said you weren't a creature of revenge – whatever that meant." The man sighed as he looked up. Light was beginning to shine. "If he vouched for you, that means you're not someone who'd lose herself to hate. Its good enough for me."

The dream she had so often belied his words. She didn't feel as free of hate and anger as Sokka thought, or Iroh predicted. But she had loved Iroh like a second father, and she was willing to give the old man's beliefs a chance.

The moment was lost as the man began to gather his things, shovelling dirt into the last ambers of the campfire. His introspection was lost. Gone was Sokka the Fisherman. He was back to being Sokka the Leader.

She was fine by that. The sooner they got to the hideout, the sooner the leaders would meet. That was all good to her mind. She essayed a smile.

"By the way, did you hear the latest?" She asked.

"About the Avatar returning?" Sokka snorted, "I've got enough problems to start bothering with fairy tales. The Avatar's gone. That's the way it is for me." He shouldered his gear. "Trust me, its better to believe in ourselves."

"But the way things are going, with all the things happening in some places." She began, but Sokka waved it off.

"Whatever. This is something for my sister. But it doesn't interest me all that much. What happens, happens. Now, let's go. We want to get Jet at some point, and we have a group to look to. Avatar or not, that doesn't change." he grinned. "Coming?"

Usha felt that she wanted to believe in the stories of the Avatar. But, unlike her master, she only took her beliefs in the Spirit World only so far. She gathered her things swiftly to follow. After all, there were more important things to consider.

_Like Jet. Like carving Taipan into his flesh with fire, like he drowned it in water._

* * *

Ty Lee sighed as she looked at the bound Kyoshi Warrior. The conversation between them wasn't going all that well, and the acrobatic, ex-Imperial soldier was starting to feel the edges of her patience fraying quite noticeably.

"You're being a fool, you know that? I need you to help me deliver a message to the Resistance leadership." She stated for what seemed the thousandth time.

She had dragged Suki deep into the nearest shack she had found and, after checking to make sure no one seemed to be around – something she still wasn't all that certain of – she had tied the unconscious woman to one of the support poles.

The awakening had been hard, the following conversation harder. Now the other woman only glared at her. _I'm not so good at getting my point across. Or maybe she's just too stubborn. _She reflected impatiently, _either way, its taking too long!_

"I won't help anyone from the Empire get access to the Resistance," the brown-haired woman dressed in archaic clothing answered, "I am your prisoner, but not your slave. I refuse."

"Even to save a city?" she asked.

"I have problems in believing that TY LEE, one of Crown Princess Azula's best fighter, one of her most loyal comrades, would simply betray her." She retorted in an angry tone. "You've got too much blood on her hands."

Ty Lee leaned against the wall, sighing. She'd expected as much, and she'd known it was going to be a bother. The fact that she couldn't refute what the other woman said – she HAD fought for the Fire Nation and the Fire Empire for many years, although with ever-lessening enthusiasm – only made it worse.

"If I'm lying to you, how do you explain the amount of troops you've noticed?" she asked. "You people must have heard rumours. Well, I'm here to tell you the when and how of it." _Now, how about that, fan-using, stubborn little…_

"You're asking me to trust that?"

"I'm asking you to take a chance!" she huffed. This was going nowhere. "Look, I've got no choice. I've got information, and I need to meet one of the leaders. Now, I know Sokka and you are close. If it's a message from you, he'll meet up."

Suki gave her a strange look at that, one which seemed part weary mirth, and part saddened longing. It immediately felt to Ty Lee that it was going to make the troublesome situation just a tad more so.

Suki shook her head with a wry, self-deprecating smile, "I doubt Sokka'd do it at this point. Your information, whatever it was, or came from, is just out of date." She said.

_Like I need more complications. Time IS short, and I mean it!_

"Do you know how many people live in Ba Sing Se?" She asked, then continued before the Kyoshi warrior could answer. "I'll tell you: two hundred, twenty-seven thousand people. With the refugees, a quarter million. Is that enough people to take a chance for?"

Suki frowned darkly. Clearly, she didn't like being made the bad guy. Ty Lee understood that the situation wasn't what the other woman had conceived it would be, but finding another way through to Sokka would take a long time. Too long, in her opinion.

This wasn't something one could stop easily. This would take time, and preparation. For the Resistance to do anything, they needed to know about the situation immediately. The real situations, not rumours or incomplete facts.

"You know, years ago, I know enough about Sokka myself, to know that he loves you. You might not believe it right now, but I do. I gotta believe it! And that means you're going to help me get him here!"

"I can't." The Kyoshi woman muttered at once, her face taut with tension. "I've let down a lot of people. I may well have forsaken love for a need to help my sisters, but I still have honour as a Kyoshi Warrior! I won't be bait no matter what you say!"

Ty Lee grund her teeth. Anger, an emotion which she rarely indulged in, was coming to the fore. She fought it down, calling upon her years of focus, both as an acrobat and a martial artist, to regain a neutral footing in her mind. Then, she thought the problem through.

She had always been thought less intelligent than Mai or Azula. In some ways, she knew she was. But she hadn't survived all these years without having a good deal of cunning. Consequently, she found a solution. It was reckless, dangerous, but also necessary.

With a swipe of her hand, she'd taken a knife she'd kept at her belt and cut the ropes holding the other woman bound. Suki's eyes widened as she looked at her arms. Swiftly, the acrobat-turned-soldier flung the captured metal fans to the prisoner's feet.

"Here. Pick up your fans, quick." She said, a grin creeping up again as she worked her plan. "You'll need them."

The elaborately-garbed woman stared at the fans for a long moment, not moving. She kept her gaze on Ty Lee, clearly trying to discern the trick. Slowly, while keeping her gaze on the martial artist, the Kyoshi woman picked her weapons up and stood again.

"Why? What's your point?" She asked at last. Ty Lee's grin widened, tense.

"I'm outta options, paint-face." She said. "If you won't be used as bait…"

"Yes?" Suki frowned.

Ty Lee wondered if this was the right choice. She might well have doomed Ba Sing Se, if she was wrong about Suki. But Sokka had been adamant about his love's pride and decency. _Besides, thousands of innocents… it's a big enough number to risk things a bit._

It was the only way she saw. She didn't like it. But she wasn't about to fight against it, either. Reckless had always, after all, been her second name. One she took pride in.

"If you won't be bait, that leaves me only one choice." Still grinning, she raised her hand. "I surrender. Now come on! Do what you want with me… but take me to Sokka or someone who can make some quick decisions before we ALL regret it!"


	11. Chapter Ten

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Ten**

Zuko had feared the contraption – a mesh of machinery, including a sort of boiler, wheels and a large furnace – since he'd first laid eyes on it. Theo had been adamant that using it would allow the ship to reach speeds sufficient to discourage any pursuit.

Looking at it, the former prince had only been convinced that reckless usage would simply blow the ship up. Because of that certainty – which, given some of Theo's inventions, had some truth to it – he had elected not to use it unless it was an emergency.

"According to the mechanic who installed this," Jee was saying, "If we pour in enough coal, it will boil the water contained in the boiler and allow a stream of steam to gush into the water, pushing it forward at a formidable pace."

"You don't sound too thrilled at the prospect." Zuko mused with a slight grin. Jee shifted uncomfortably at this.

"I have to admit… it's a daunting little thing, this invention." The grey-haired man sighed, "But we don't have much choice, do we?"

The scarred young man shook his head, and turned to look at the two women with him. Katara had asked to help, and that was fine by him. However, he'd been resistant when Toph had said she'd help as well. It had angered the young woman.

"I'm not some pretty, fancy-pants noblewoman, Flame Brains!" she'd said with heat, her eyes glaring straight ahead of her. "Don't you dare ever insult me again like that! I'm helping1 And if you don't like it, deal with it!"

He'd ended the conversation at that. Stuck with the two women, his mind had eventually concocted something to better their chances of escaping their enemies. It was a bit insane, but he couldn't find anything else.

"We'll work this contraption once we've started it up." he told them. He first pointed to himself. "I'm a Firebender. I can control how much heat is given. Heat is energy, so it should provide for a stronger push." He then shifted his attention to Toph.

"The coal, right?" The woman grunted before he could speak. "I'll bend it into that thing steadily. Easy thing. Can do it for hours." She shrugged. Had she not trembled slightly, one would have thought she was fully back to what she once was.

"Then what do I do?" the Water Tribeswoman asked, a bit irritated at all this. She seemed to hate the contraption even more than Zuko himself did. "I am Waterbender. I'm not much use in steel and fire."

"Yes, you are." Jee interjected suddenly. "Actually, I think you could really be useful!" Everyone looked at him, blinking, but then the young royal nodded.

"He's right. I'll provide energy. Toph'll provide a steady feed. You… you'll cool the whole thing so it doesn't blow up in our faces."

The young, brown-skinned woman looked at the blind, pale-skinned one a moment, and something seemed to pass between them. Zuko felt that he was being put out of the loop, which was a strange feeling.

"He's insane. You're right." Katara mused.

"You bet. But he's not COMPLETELY stupid." Toph deadpanned. At that moment, Zuko would have cheerfully thrown them both off the ship in a childish impulse. Fortunately, the needs of the present stopped him, so he simply gave a huff.

He didn't wish to argue further, at any rate. He gave a nod to Jee, who bowed slightly and moved towards the doorway, heading for the main bridge. Very soon, they would either escape or would have to fight many enemies. The young man was ready for both.

He gestured to the men to open the furnace, and Toph, touching the coal, began to Earthbend. Carefully, she manipulated it towards entrance, as Zuko began to Firebend, starting it faster than it ever could have.

Once started, the process went smoothly, with Toph steadily sending a stream of coal in, and Zuko using the heat of it to generate greater heat. After a moment, the boilers began to hiss and sputter.

As they began to protest, they were suddenly covered by water, which turned to frost. Although it melted almost immediately, Zuko saw that Katara was doing her best to maintain the cold. The metal would be a wreck by the end, but whatever blast the contraption would give, it would be a big one.

"This… is getting… boring." Toph said. He saw that she was unsteady, and made a tentative step towards her. She must have felt him, however, because she straightened immediately, giving a scathing look in his general direction. "What're you doing? Keep doing your stuff, idiot, and I'll keep doing mine!"

"What do we do?" Katara said, her voice rising as the sounds from the machine increased. "How do we release it?"

"There's a lever. I'll pull it when it feels right!" he answered. He eyed the machine. _Theo, that thing better not blow up on me, or I'll haunt you and your crazy father forever! _Still, he kept pouring fire in. Despite Katara's best efforts, the metal was beginning to glow an ugly red.

"Can't hold it!" Katara growled fiercely, sweat glistening down her face. "Its too much!"

"We're done!" Toph said at the same time. "That thing can't take much more! Is it enough?!" They were shouting over the din, now.

Zuko looked at the lever. Theo would be rolling around his wheeled chair in glee to do it, but the scarred man had no such desire. He gave a small prayer to the spirits, especially to his uncle's, for protection.

"Look's like we'll know! Hold on to something!" he shouted, and pulled the lever.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the entire contraption seemed to shiver. Wheels and gears turned, faster and faster, in a maddening rhythm, and the noise went so loud that they all covered the ears as best they could. Still, nothing happened. There was no movement.

"Damn you, Theo! This better work, or I'll…" Zuko began to shout to the eccentric mechanic – who wasn't present to hear of it, of course – when suddenly, there was great, loud hiss.

And all three were driven to the ground by the force behind the surge. Zuko found himself flat on his back, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

"Guess… it works!" was all he found to say.

* * *

Being in the air had always been Aang's bliss. Ever since Appa had been large enough to carry him, he'd taken the habit of flying whenever he could, often bothering his teachers with his antics.

It had, of course, only gotten worse as he'd grown up, his spectacular mastery of Airbending allowing him to quickly master the glider, and eventually leading him to invent the Air Ball, on which one could ride. All things to do with Air. All about flying, hovering, being IN the air.

He had never thought he'd be using his talents for war. Even when he had learned of his fate as the Avatar, the idea hadn't crossed his mind. He had been bothered by responsibility, but hadn't actually detailed what they implied in his mind.

He knew it now. And what frightened him most was that, although it disgusted him, he also found himself readily accepting it. As Appa circled around the three Fire Nation ships, he forced the winds to rebel, affecting the sea, and slowly but surely creating a small tempest. So annoying had he been, that the ships had stopped and targeted him.

_Good. That's what I want. Target me, for all the good it'll do. _The young Avatar thought more fiercely than he had thought himself capable of thinking only days ago. He'd learned the limits and patterns of the Fire Nation ships and their Firebenders, always staying just ahead of them.

Deep down, of course, he knew the reasons which made him fierce and cold. He had seen the crushed homes of his people, the place where they had died fighting, defending their homes. Although he felt no particular hatred for the Fire Nation itself, its soldiers were another thing entirely.

And then there were the people he was with at the moment. Zuko, with his scarred face and gloomy attitude. Katara, warm, protective and clinging to hope. They and the people on the ship had helped him, had comforted him when he'd briefly lost hope.

It was a good feeling. He'd shared it with Gyatso and the students of the Air Temple. He had lost that forever, now. _But there's no way, NO WAY, I'm losing it again! I won't fail to protect those important to me ever again!_

Still, it was easier said than done. Appa was beginning to tire, and the strain of Airbending was beginning to take its toll on the young monk's body. Airbending could only do so much by itself.

_Isn't that what Roku meant? I mean, if I could Waterbend, Earthbend and… and Firebend, I could do so much more. _Instead of stalling the ships, he was sure, he could have created a storm of steam, a lacerating elemental cyclone.

He felt a bit of satisfaction at the thought. It was what they deserved, after all. Those people had begun the war, Zuko had said, so it was up to the Avatar to crush them and restore balance. With more power, he was sure to succeed.

And then Gyatso's disapproving face flashed in Aang's mind, and the boy recoiled in horror. _Spirits…spirits… what was I thinking?! I can't be like that! I'll never be like that! _He chastised himself firmly. If nothing else, Aang intended to maintain his own integrity.

He was tired, he realized. His thoughts were muddy, and his irritation was starting to gain him over. There was no way he could go on. With a sigh, he gently tapped Appa's side. The bison grunted in a bestial question mark.

"Let's go, buddy." He said, "We've done all we can. Let's see how the others are doing."

Appa answered in a relieved grunt, and began to fly away from the enemy, towards the ship that the both of them had pretty much adopted as their home lately. The boy looked back at the ship. The wind had abated already, the sea calmed. They were already giving pursuit.

_Not enough. Not enough to make a real difference. I need to learn the other Bending styles as quickly as I can. _He decided. _And then I'll… I'll do something. I need to stop all this from happening! If nothing else, I'll do that at least!_

He searched for the ship, and was surprised when he didn't see it immediately. He blinked a few times in wonder, and urged the air Bison to get farther from the ships. Appa could fly much faster than any ship, so he surmised he'd see them eventually.

Sure enough, he did, but it wasn't anything he'd expected. After sighting it, he actually rubbed his eyes in dazed wonderment. He was seeing a jet of… steam?… streaming out of the ship, and the ship itself was going at speeds that Appa would have a hard time keeping up with.

_Zuko told me he'd do something to pick up speed, but… this is crazy! The ship'll blow up! _There was no way the enemy ship would ever catch them, however, since these were already far behind Aang. They certainly had no hope of seeing their prey now.

Although he didn't like it, the young monk urged Appa faster, and the bison answered with a somewhat annoyed affirmative. At first, they seemed not to gain much ground, and his old companion grunted fiercely, seemingly taking that as a challenge to him. _Appa's always been stubborn at times like these._ They then started to gain ground quickly.

Too quickly. The ship's suddenly stopped streaming steam, and slowed down to nearly normal levels. Consequently, the rushing duo actually shot past, and had to swerve past. Appa gave a satisfied grunt: he'd won his self-made challenge. This, in turn, made the Avatar actually chuckle despite the bleak outlook the last days had given.

"Good work, Appa!" he said, and the Bison seemed to heartily agree. They swiftly landed on the ships's deck.

It was covered in water, and slight damage could be seen everywhere. Aang could see crewmembers picking themselves up, some limping, some nursing an arm or a leg, all wincing. To the boy's relief, everyone seemed to have survived the mad dash.

He saw Jee giving orders from farther off, setting those crewmen who still seemed alright into a flurry of activity. The ship was returning to normalcy. For some reason, this made the Avatar feel better about things. It was a strange impression, but he quickly decided not to fight it, but to accept it.

_I guess this isn't the Air Temple. Nowhere's going to be like it. _He thought. _But, here, at least, I feel like I'm… home._

_Yeah… I'm home. I guess. _

* * *

Born into the luxury and wealth which had characterized the Bei Fong family for generations, Toph had actually never considered herself a prim and proper noblewoman. She actually prided herself on her ability to eschew noble privileges, and her capacity at living a rough and dangerous life. She rarely regretted her disposition.

As she held on to a pipe for dear life, however, she definitely felt that she wished she'd simply been born with sight, selfish and scared of breaking a nail, like all those other noble girls. This was the last straw.

The engine that Theo and his father had invented – this was actually cause for some concern, as the two were known for their reckless enthusiasm – had worked, after a fashion. However, she doubted that the burst of speed was supposed to flatten people on the walls. She'd heard shouts and cries of pain, and her own injuries screeched.

"Are you okay?!?" Asked the person holding on beside her. Although born blind, Toph had also been born with a very acute sense of second sight, as long as she touched the ground, like wood, earth or metal. It had been the main reason why she'd been able to refine her Earthbending to the levels she had.

Thus, although she was blind, she 'saw' Katara nearly as well as a normal person, in her own way. The Waterbender's heart was racing, but felt more excited than frightened. _Of course she does. _She told herself, _Since when does ZUKO attract normal people?_

The Prince, she felt, had actually not been quite able to hold onto something, and was pretty much flat on his back, clearly embarrassed about the whole thing. It actually almost made the Earthbending master grin.

"Yeah, of course!" she answered, as she answered any questions about her health. _So I had it rough. Yeah, it was rough, but I'm okay, dammit! I'm the Blind Bandit! It takes more than a few flashy fireballs to get me down!_

"Zuko!" Katara shouted. "How long is this going to last?!?"

"You're asking ME?!?" The prince shouted back.

"Who ELSE am I gonna ask?!" The young woman asked with clear irritation in her voice. Not the kind to use with Zuko. But she – like Toph herself – didn't seem to care.

"How am I supposed to know?!" came the equally irritated retort, "It's not like I can… wait! I think it's… yes, its slowing down!"

Toph could have said it before herself, as she felt it through her senses. The ship quickly slowed its maddened dash, eventually coming back to a fast, but manageable, speed. Both women let got with relief, as Zuko stood up and brushed himself. He walked towards them and looked at them awkwardly.

"Are you alright?" He asked hesitantly. Katara huffed, but nodded rather curtly. He looked back at the contraption, hissing and puffing still. "Spirits, I hope we NEVER have to use it again! How about you, Toph? Are you…"

He asked his question hesitantly, but genuinely, gently touching her arm a moment. A moment was enough. A presence which SCREAMED 'Firebender' was touching her. She recoiled from him for a brief moment.

Toph immediately regretted the move. She hadn't meant it that way, but the damage was done. Zuko snatched his hand away, and the emotions she felt from him at that moment were sadness, and a dull ache.

She wanted to go to him, to tell him something to make up for the move. But she didn't. Words wouldn't come. And a small part of her, it seemed, didn't want to apologize at all. As if she had done the right thing. _Maybe it WAS rougher than I wanna admit, _She told herself sombrely.

"Yeah, well…" Katara had seen the whole thing, of course, and her emotions told Toph that the other woman really wanted to be elsewhere. "Let's see how the ship held up." She proposed.

Toph felt Zuko nod quickly. Much too quickly. She knew that he was upset, even hurt, by her distance. But he'd never pry or bother her about it. It was a point of his personality she had come to genuinely like of him over the years, this respect of another's inner thoughts. _Except that right now, it's just making it worse._

But she wouldn't budge, either. The years of forging her own identity, her own worth, stopped her, just as any river or ice rendered her just as blind as anyone else with that ailment. She had seen that as a point of pride. Until now.

She followed them, trying to keep herself as aloof as she always wanted people to believe her to be. However, from the way people went out of her path, it was clear the tension was showing. She noticed that people seemed to give Zuko a wide berth. Katara's feeling of unease only kept increasing.

"That was crazy! But it was pretty amazing!" a voice exclaimed, and another presence made itself felt. Its step was so light that she hadn't seen him coming. Now she saw that it was a boy, much younger than she was, and smaller than even her rather short stature. _Still, there's something… strong in there. But what?_

"A compliment from the Avatar himself!" Zuko stated, with a point of good humour. "I'll make sure to tell Theo right before I belt him for inventing something so insane."

_Huh?!? _"YOU're the AVATAR?!" Toph couldn't help but exclaim. "A little…Twinkle-Toes?" The boy never actually seemed to feel slighted, although Katara bristled.

"Yeah! I'm Aang, an Airbender! I still haven't learned the other elements but…" she felt him give a look around him. "But I think I've met the right people."

"Aang…" Katara mused.

"You're good at Waterbending, Katara. Zuko's good at Firebending, and I've seen…err…"

"Toph." Zuko supplied.

"Right! Toph was amazing in Earthbending!" his grin could be felt without sight. "So, how about it?"

As far as Toph was concerned, none of it made any sense. The Avatar? Alive after so long? Nobody believed in the Avatar, except maybe Bumi, as far as she was concerned. How was she supposed to simply take all this? _NO WAY!_

"No. Leave me alone." She said. And before anyone – especially Zuko – tried to stop her, she left. She'd given enough. She wanted to rest a bit. The world could wait, the Avatar could wait, it could all wait. All of it.

* * *

Sokka was feeling rather glad that he was returning home. Living on the road, with danger all around, had been almost fun a decade ago, but it had lost its lustre over the years. Not that he wasn't willing to do it when necessary. Still, he was glad.

He found it ironic that his hideout had been built within a forest – albeit one which had access to coves from which Resistance ships could safely launch or hide. It was ressembling Jet's idea, although he'd never tried to have the place built in the trees.

"Home at last, Usha." He told his somewhat-bodyguard, somewhat-protégé.

"As much as a home as we can afford to have." Came the answer. Once again, the slightly fatalistic tone reminded the boomerang-using freedom fighter of Zuko. _She's really starting to fully emulate him. I don't think Zuko likes that, either._

Memories of her arrival – a young, hollow-eyed girl clinging to a mildly embarrassed former prince – surged in his mind. It was the old days of the Resistance. In those day, he remembered, Hakoda led easily, Iroh provided counsel and wisdom, and there seemed to be nothing they couldn't do together.

And, in those days, Suki and he had been more than close. They had shared their fears, their dreams, their hopes. At length, he considered her more than a lover, and more like a wife. In those days, he believed she felt the same.

_Why am I bothered by her these days? _He wondered, shaking his head. _Grow up, Sokka. Your not the kid who went to look for his dad in a little boat! Snap out of this and look forward. _Of course, it was easier said that done.

"I have a question, sir." Usha mused.

"Usha, you've known me way before I was leading anything. Stop calling me sir." He waited, and when he received no question, mentally rolled his eyes. _Zuko. Too much like Zuko. _"What's your question?"

He saw her lick her lips a moment, a rare sign of nervousness from the woman who'd been drilled to fighting peak by two highly-skilled men. "Why do you want to eliminate Jet's unit? Is it because you hate Jet, or because of what his group did? Why?"

Sokka continued to walk, appreciating the morning air as he considered his answer. It was the kind of question he'd half-expected for some time, and he wasn't surprised it came from her, whose mental baggage with Jet's group was understandably extensive.

"Its not because I hate Jet." He said at length. "I hate quite a few people, and some of them deserve it. Some of them don't. So I don't act purely on that." _Nice words. Hopefully, they're true._

"But you're right about their actions." He continued, and this time he felt no doubt. "They've killed people, innocent and guilty, in the name of freedom. I can't stand that. Never could. I was raised by honest, good-hearted people. That kind of hypocrisy Jet shows is just the opposite of what they stood for."

He shrugged. He realized that he might not have made that much sense, and he also knew there might be another reason he'd pushed for Jet's destruction, badly enough to petition Bumi himself. But that was also as far as he could articulate it.

The young woman seemed about to speak, then stopped, even as Sokka's eyes narrowed. Her blades were out even as the man was taking out his boomerang. They'd heard noise. He realized that, this close to the hideout, it was nearly impossible for it to be an enemy. But the possibility existed, and that was more than enough.

Then he saw Usha lower her blades slightly, listening, and he strained to hear. Zuko had taught the girl how to listen to one's footsteps, and the harsh drills allowed her to know who was coming easily, if she knew them. Sokka, for his part, had never had time or ability for it.

"Its…Suki, I think." She said after a moment, and lowered her blades. Sokka's eyes widened, and he lowered his own weapon a bit.

Sure enough, Suki came into sight. Skilled as she was, the young man was certain that she could have hidden her presence better. That she hadn't done so showed that something was up. Her face, by itself, was cause for some concern.

Seeing that face brought ache to Sokka's heart. Only the memory of the younger sister he'd left behind had ever ached more fiercely. Aside from Katara and his own mother, he'd never felt that level of affection for any woman.

"Suki." He said, and found himself speechless. Words wouldn't come, no matter how hard he tried.

"S-Sokka." Suki answered, panting. It was clear, from her clothes and ragged breath, that she'd come looking for him, through the usual back roads he used and that she knew so well about. "Sokka, you have to listen to me. This is… this is big."

An angry, confused retort formed on his lips, but he found himself incapable of saying it. _Damn her. All these years, all this resentment… and I still love her just as much as those first weeks, running from the Fire Nation, looking for Dad's group._

He coughed. "Okay… its big. What's going on?" he asked. "If it's about Jet…"

"It's not about _Jet_." She cut him off, surprising him with the vehemence when she said Jet's name. "It's about Ty Lee. She's in the camp, Sokka. As our prisoner."

"W-what?" Usha uttered. "Ty Lee, captured? Just like that? I don't believe it!"

Sokka couldn't, either. He'd known the woman a long time, had seen her fight. She was one of the most formidable martial artists he knew. To capture her… would be a major undertaking.

"I know why you'd say that, but its true." Suki answered, "And she wasn't captured. She let herself BE captured. She never resisted. Said, you needed to meet her. That it was urgent."

He was already moving by then. He'd heard enough to know that time was short. Ty Lee had been a secret source for years. For her to come out into the open, meant that events were about to become ugly.

"What does she want to talk to me about?" He asked, and Suki's answer far from surprising him, nonetheless chilled him to the bone.

"About Azula."

* * *

This wasn't exactly what Ty Lee would call having a good time. Even though she well knew that it was a necessary gesture, she wasn't the type to meekly accept being captured and locked up. Still, one did what one had to do.

She lay on the cot which had been set in the small, rocky room the Earthbenders had carved for her and thrown her in. They had bound her hands in front of her with a rocky mesh, and done the same to her feet. They seemed certain that it would hold her.

It showed that these Earthbenders were either foolish or overconfident. It was a common theme with Benders, however, thinking that those without their powers could never hurt them. In fact, Ty Lee had already devised a way to free herself.

_At least, they're feeding me. Not exactly noble-level food, mind you, but it's a feed. _She eyed the water and bread she'd been given. _No violence, either. Guess Suki DID do something in all this._

That the Kyoshi warrior had taken her to the base – albeit bound and blindfolded – was proof that the other woman at least believed PART of what she'd said. At least, Ty Lee hadn't miscalculated on that part. _Another chance taken the right way. Whew._

She'd been left alone for three days, now, except for an Earthbender delivering her meal twice per day. In her mind, she found that she'd almost preferred more violent means. Inaction was a bore, and she was one to act rashly when bored.

_Damn it… Sokka, this isn't the time to fool around. _She thought,_ I can't save these people, I don't have what I need. But maybe you can. People trust you, inside and outside the Resistance. You gotta come quickly._

As if someone had heard her, the wall opened into a door, and four strongly-built men sporting the style of Earthbenders came in. She immediately rose to a sitting position. She wasn't ready to fight, but she wasn't about to be meek, either.

"Is Sokka here?" she demanded. As expected, they didn't answer.

Instead, two of them grabbed her by the arms, and forced her hands up. Earth erupted from the ceiling and engulfed her forearms, even as the saw the other two Earthbenders work on her feet, also imprisoning them.

_Professional work, but overconfident swagger, _she sniggered inwardly, _I could have used at least twenty ways to get free and take you out here. You're a lucky little bunch, and you don't even know it._

Her amused thoughts came to a screeching end as three people entered. Suki was one of them, and the Kyoshi warrior was still eyeing the acrobat with clear distrust. The other was a black-haired woman whose traits spoke of both Fire and Earth parentage, dressed in deep red and black. That woman – younger than Suki by several years – was looking at Ty lee with distrust, but also confusion and a certain longing.

None of that mattered at the moment. At that moment, the tired woman gave a radiant grin at the man standing in the doorway. Although handsome in his own way, her elation had nothing to do with anything physical. It felt more like a prayer being answered.

"'Bout time. I was getting tired waiting for you to show up." She nearly laughed as the Earthbenders seemed to bristle. "Long time, no see, Sokka."

The man she had once known as an enemy, and that she knew now in a different way, seemed changed from what she remembered. Years of leading had taken its toll. Although she still saw hope in the man's eyes, it seemed to be dampened by something bleak, grim.

_The face of a leader with a conscience, _she reflected, _something Azula could never, ever be._

Her first encounter with the then-naïve, excited youth didn't quite prepare her for his calm presence. He took note of her with a nod, and then motioned to the Earthbenders standing by, his face remaining as still as stone.

"Thank you. Leave me alone with her for a moment." He ordered. The men seemed ready to protest. The two woman stared at Sokka like he was insane, even as he came forward. They never had the chance to say anything before he spoke again, in a tone which allowed no challenge. "This isn't a whim, I assure you. She's not insane. Leave me."

They did. Reluctantly, grudgingly. They gave ground, she saw, out of respect, not fear. Also very different from Azula. _Much harder to attain. Zuko was like that too, respect rather than fear, for the little while it lasted._

The only one who hesitated still was Suki. The man gave her a look, and her shoulders sagged a bit. Nodding, she left, and the doorway disappeared, leaving only the cell's lamp illuminating the space. It was only at that moment that he sighed.

"They really respect you." She noted.

"Can't say why, really. I'm not that great at it. I guess they see me as Hakoda's shadow, what remains of his will." He shook his head with a half-grin. "Its been a long time, Ty Lee, just like you said."

Ty Lee gave a smile, forgetting her posture and the nature of her captivity a moment, and she found herself wanting to be beside this man. Then the moment passed, and she remembered why she was here. _Duty first, me? Who'd have thought it?!?_

"I'd love to chat, but I've got to tell you things. About the city, and about me. Azula's up to no good."

"Yeah, I've heard a bit from Suki. Azula's always up to no good. I guess its just…bigger, this time." The young man noted, "So, what's she planning?"

She grimaced. He knew, but he didn't know enough. His tone didn't have the urgency of someone who knew the damage, the horror, the ruthless princess intended to visit upon the people of the defeated Earth Kingdom.

"Sokka, listen to me, it's larger than anything you've had to deal with before. Heck, I can barely deal with the thought, myself! But you gotta do… I don't know…_something_!"

"NOW, you're scaring me. What is it?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"Ba Sing Se, Sokka. Azula's tired of dealing with it. She's going to lash out against it. Badly. And knowing her, its going to be ordered, efficient and deadly."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Of all of its branches, the Imperial Fire Navy was arguably the strongest, and certainly most well-regarded. It was the core of the fighting ability which had allowed a string of islands to overwhelm the much older and much larger Earth Kingdom.

Zhao, of the High Noble Blood of Hakuon, knew this quite well. He knew that the navy had had a long, fruitful history, full of moments of pride and glory, serving the people as best it could.

The Navy had appeared several hundred years before the war, when the Fire Tribes broke away from the Earth Kingdom, founding the Fire Nation. It had been a rag-tag force at first, made up of outfitted fishermen ships and captured Earth warships.

Eventually, however, it had built up to a fleet which equalled the vast Earth Fleet in all but numbers, surpassing it in technology. And then the war began, and ship production rose dramatically.

It had been during those days that the Fire Navy and the Earth Navy had clashed. Although far smaller, the Fire naval forces had Kazaki, who rose to be the greatest naval commander of the first half of the war, if not the war proper.

Kazaki rose to Fleet Admiral, and led the Grand Armada which had crushed the Earth Navy definitely. The Earth Kingdom never regained the upper hand, allowing for the solidification of the conquered territories and the colonies.

To Zhao, Kazaki had been largely a role model. Although he had rejected the man's habit of liberating common prisoners as problematic at best, he'd admired the genius in the man's planning, and wished he'd been there, on Kazaki's ship, overseeing the Fire Nation's greatest naval success.

He had had that chance. Using connections and knowledge he had gleaned from Won Shi Tong's fabled vaults of knowledge, Zhao had risen to Admiral, commanding hundreds of ships. His task had been to finally breach and crush the Northern Water Tribes, and to render Waterbenders everywhere powerless.

Had he succeeded, the man knew all too well, he'd have had a title of Fleet Admiral, and the supreme naval position. He would have surpassed Kazaki himself. _I'd have become the new role model, the greatest officer in the Fire Nation!_

But, on the last step, on the brink of his greatest triumph, fate had cheated him. He had pummelled the Water Tribes, enlisting the disgraced but formidable former General Iroh. He had had them where he'd wanted them. All that remained was to breach the walls, and get the Spirits of the Moon and the Ocean, and destroy them.

And then the Spirits had vanished. The powers of the Waterbenders vanished for nearly four hours. It had been enough to smash the walls, but their powers had returned before they could be fully routed. Their city lost, they had evacuated with much of their people, to the icy parts of their lands, where no Firebender could touch them.

On the brink of triumph, Zhao had returned in disgrace, seething as his mind came to several conclusions. That the exiled Prince Zuko and ex-General Iroh soon went rogue only assured him of one thing: Those two had betrayed him. Why, that never mattered to the once-rising star. All that mattered were the facts.

Where Kazaki had gone back home to secure glory and become a living legend, Zhao had been shamed and demoted to Commander, then sent to command a small squadron, far from the main battle lines. He had been disgraced, and hidden from Ozai's sight.

"Commander." The ship's captain stated hesitantly, "Commander, I have a report which…"

"Tell me, Captain Iruma." The grey-haired, wary-eyed man muttered as he continued to stare at the space he'd been staring at for long moments. "Tell me, when I take a rest, do I wish to be disturbed?"

Ten years ago, the mere thought of Zhao's displeasure would have sent the other man grovelling, begging for his life. As it was, the younger officer merely looked uncomfortable. _He's my subordinate, but he's not disgraced. I'm no threat. _The former admiral found the thought all but impossible to bear.

"I apologize, Commander." The man said, not sounding all that apologetic. "But we've received a report from a squadron of ships. They sighted… what appeared to have been former Prince Zuko's ship. It was…"

The officer was unable to say more. At that moment, Zhao's hand shot up, grabbing him by the throat and dragging him down. The man grabbed his superior's arm, but the vice-like grip refused to slacken even a little bit.

"What did you say?" he hissed softly "I could have sworn you said Zuko. You said Zuko, didn't you?" he nodded at the man's affirmative gargle. "Did the squadron take him?" _Oh, how I'd love that. Zuko, that little brat, if he ever falls into my hands, I'll make him weep blood before I boil the life out of him!_

"N-no…" Iruma squawked, then quickly continued as Zhao finally looked at him. "But the squadron… reports… saw someone… flying… airbending?"

"AIRbending?!" Zhao growled, fully prepared to burn the man to cinders. "You come here and crush what little joy I have, and you bother me with fairy tales?! Airbending… Airbenders are…!" he stopped, reflecting. He turned to look at the other man again. The captain's face was beginning to turn blue. "I want to meet the squadron's officers. Now."

He let go, and Iruma gasped gratefully. Zhao wasn't looking at the lesser officer again. He was staring at the wall once more. This time, however, he wasn't quite brooding. _Airbender… if there are still Airbenders. If I bring one back… maybe…_

He didn't fully believe the story, of course. However, the possibility was too enticing. Almost as enticing as burning Prince Zuko to death. And the potential rewards, if played well…

"Set sail." He decided. "I want to hear the story. I want to see this for myself." He grinned, for the first time in many months. Yes, an airbender. Perfect. It was an opportunity.

Glory might not be completely blocked from Zhao of the High Noble Blood of Hakuon, after all! _And, spirits be damned, this time, fate will smile on ME!_

* * *

Zuko had decided to let Aang and Katara participate in the meeting for two vastly different reasons. For Aang, it was simply because he felt that the Avatar was too involved now not to be present. For Katara, it was because he felt she'd have stubbornly come anyway.

Jee was present as well, as captain of the ship. However, Toph had elected to stay in Zuko's quarters – something she'd done ever since the experiment with Teo's engine. Although he didn't like it, the young man gave her her space.

"Are you certain it was Zhao?" Zuko mused, unable to say the name without scorn. It made Aang blink and Katara frown, but Jee himself only sighed.

"No way to tell for certain, Prince Zuko." The older, former officer answered. Marks of dislike also tinted the man's face – Jee had been there at the attack on the Northern Water Tribes. "But it follows what reports our spies gave us of Imperial deployments."

"If its really Zhao, we have a problem. If they report what they saw."

"Yes, Prince Zuko. That's true."

"Excuse me…" the young monk piped up, actually raising his hand a moment. For all of the resolve the Avatar had recently found, Zuko noticed being surrounded by adults still tended to overwhelm him. "Who's Zhao?"

Both Firebenders blinked at each other, then at Aang and Katara. The young man realized that the question had a point. The young woman and the boy both had little knowledge of the situation beyond the basics. The scarred man cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed.

"Yes, sorry about that. Zhao…" he mused, "Well, Zhao's the best example of what's wrong with my people. He's a good officer, but he completely lacks morals. And he thinks of himself as better than he really is."

"He was in charge of a very large task force ten years ago, a force which attacked the Northern Water Tribes. The attack largely failed to give results, and he's been locked in disgrace for years." Jee finished calmly.

"Simply put, my relationship with him is this: he hates me, I hate him." Zuko added. "But that's not the real issue here."

Aang seemed to be processing the information, but Katara's frown only increased. She was still struggling, he saw, with the fact that Firebenders sometimes didn't agree with Imperial policies. Actually, Zuko wondered if many of them actually agreed with them, or if they just followed orders out of blind loyalty.

Katara's voice, however, told him that she had come up with her own thoughts on the matter. "They've seen Aang. They've seen him Airbend. If they report it…"

"If they report it, they'll be scouring the area. And they'll have a sort of description of him." Jee noted.

They were silent for a moment as that sank in. Zuko knew that what Jee had said was only the tip of the iceburg. Zhao's goals having been dashed, the man was likely to cling to anything which could allow him to recover lost status. _I know the feeling. Ten years ago, I was exactly the same. Or nearly so._

"Good." Aang stated, breaking the silence. "That's perfect."

"Perfect?!?" Katara fairly exploded, her voice echoing through the room. "If they make the connection, Aang, if they figure out who you are…!"

The young man looked at the water tribeswoman calmly, and Zuko was struck by the calm he exhibited. It was the face of someone who understood, but had made his peace with something important.

"I don't like running. And all I've been doing is run, run, run." The boy said, "I can't take it Katara. I'm supposed to be helping people, not be scared of being found. Avatar Roku told me I was needed, that I had to learn the other Bending styles. Its better than running around."

The Prince pursed his lips a moment. The boy wasn't making sense… or wasn't he. Zuko remembered a vivid dream… a strange world… a dark hole with a voice beckoning closer, closer. _I was close to something… dangerous. Even now, I know._

"Maybe you are." He said, "And you're needed. I know that. The Spirits… well, let's just say that I know enough. But Zhao's no joke. If he finds you, he'll cripple you and send you to my father as a trophy. Count on that."

The boy gave him a rather defiant glare at that. "I don't care! I need to do something! I need to…" He stopped and all but fell down, steadying himself upon the table they'd been standing around. His face turned pale almost instantly, and Katara quickly put her arms around him in deep concern, even as she shivered and looked around. Even Jee looked somewhat uncomfortable.

Zuko also put a hand on the table to steady himself, taking deep breath. _Their gift for saving them. I can feel it._ "This is bad. This is a big one. Lots of fear and anger here." he said through clenched teeth. He started for the door, grabbing the Avatar as he passed. The boy looked at him in pale-faced shock.

"Y-you can feel it?" The monk stuttered, "W-what is it? I've felt it before. Once. Just… a few m-moments. Nothing like this!"

"I know. It's a big one. Lots of angry spirits around here. Lets go… lets go meet them. You should see them fine."

"Wait a minute! What's this creepy feeling?" Katara grunted, then added, "See who? See WHAT?!"

Zuko closed his eyes, keeping back a wave of nausea. He didn't want to go. But at the same time, he felt that he had to. This was something a few people were cursed with, interacting with… them. He gave the Waterbender a grim look.

"See what?" he mused soberly. It was actually amusing to think on. Amusing, but also frightening. He didn't want to go. There was nothing he could do. _But, maybe…maybe, this kid can help. The Avatar is supposed to be extraordinary. Let him prove it to me!_

He opened the door, dragging the dazed Avatar with him. He gave the angry, frightened woman one last look, said one last thing before he left.

"We're going to see the spirits of the dead, that's what." He answered soberly. Then he was gone.

* * *

Aang, in all of his life, had never felt something like this. It wasn't fear, not really. But it was a feeling of something… other than fear. Something outside. He couldn't fully describe it, all he knew is that it felt _wrong_.

He didn't know, even if Zuko's grip hadn't been so unrelenting, if he'd have been able to even bother. He was rather overcome. Still, he couldn't help but look at the tall, scarred man as they made their way outside.

The Firebender didn't seem like he wanted to be there, either. His face looked taut, grim and, surprisingly, scared. The young monk noticed that the crew didn't seem to share in the strangeness. Some looked uncomfortable, but most only looked at Zuko and Aang strangely.

"T-they don't… n-notice?" He asked.

"They can't." Zuko said, his voice strained. "They feel something's out of place, but that's it. They don't have the spiritual… gift." The man nearly spat the last word, and it was clear he didn't consider it anything like that.

They made their way to the deck, and Zuko stopped dragging him. Aang straightened, then looked where the otherman was suddenly staring. His eyes widened, and he took a step backwards.

On the sea, where only the waves should have stood, were ships. Ships, and people. Earth Kingdom ships, and Fire Nation ships. Changed as they were, their banners were clear. They were in the midst of a violent clash, firing and on each other, great rocks and gouts of flames thrown, masts broken, crews running to and fro. It was a scene of indescribable violence.

Only, there was no sound. And the ships and people themselves seemed present, yet absent. It was like an image, imprinted on the land. They seemed real, and yet Aang looked about and saw no one else but Zuko staring around.

"W-what is this? A dream?" he asked, although he knew.

"I wish." The prince replied with what sounded like a chuckle. "If it's a dream, I've been dreaming it for a few years, now. No, Aang, not a dream. I guess, being the Avatar, you can see these things. Not surprising. You're supposed to have a strong spiritual link, or so the stories say.

Aang gritted his teeth to keep them from chattering. The feeling wasn't going away. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath. After a moment, he heard Zuko again, his voice still strained, but now composed.

"Don't worry. We're in broad daylight, lucky us. I wouldn't want to witness the Battle of the Scarlet Waters by night."

Aang didn't like what he'd glimpsed by day. He refused to open his eyes. Was that what war caused? _I don't want to be a part of that! I want to go home and try to learn boring meditation! _He realized that the boring lectures many elders gave him, all the practice sessions, were a fun time compared to this. But it was too late for regrets. That's what he tried telling himself, at any rate.

"W-what's… the B-battle of… S…Scarlet Waves?" he asked.

"Waters. A battle fought… oh, over eighty years ago. A massive battle between the Toroden Fleet of the Earth Kingdom and the Kazaki Fleet of the Fire Nation. The best of each nation clashed here, and over a hundred ships, and thousands of people, died before Kazaki finally killed Toroden and forced his fleet to flee." Zuko mused, as if reciting from a history book.

"A stupid battle." He snapped, his sickness forgotten in a moment of anger.

"Yes. Kazaki himself said that all battles were ridiculous affairs by themselves." Zuko mused. "My uncle would agree. Ah, finally." The man heaved a sigh.

Aang opened his eyes. The ships were still fighting – he had the impression that the Earth Kingdom Navy ships were trying to run – but were fading, as if waking from a bad dream. The feeling of strangeness was ebbing away. Still, Aang refused to look long, and averted his gaze until all was normal again.

"This… my teachers never told me anything like this. Even the stories of the Spirit World… they never told me this!" He exclaimed.

"Probably because it wasn't something that happened in their time. I've heard of small things before that – mainly from my Uncle – but I've been seeing things like that myself a lot over the last few years." He smirked, "No good deed ever goes unpunished, but still, what a punishment that was!"

"I don't understand."

"Its complicated." Zuko shrugged, "But I guess I drove the point home. You're supposed to be the Balance, Avatar. I didn't understand that until the Spirit of the Ocean and the Spirit of the Moon gave me this… ability. But now… you're needed. Now more than ever."

Aang felt oddly frustrated by that. He wondered why hearing Zuko all but ask for aid bothered him. Perhaps it was because the man had always seemed to be on top of things, to be in control of everything.

"I don't know, Zuko." He said, "I don't know how." Dealing with Bending, that was something he felt he could do. But dealing with spiritual troubles on top of that.

"Then we'll have to find out. You said you wanted to learn to control all four elements." He mused, "That's a start. And I think you can count on us. On Katara, on me, on Toph. Don't let your troubles overwhelm you. Trust me, I know what happens when you do."

Aang smiled at the words, said so awkwardly. He felt the truth in them. He'd learned that Zuko, aloof and cold as he may seem at times, found it nearly impossible to lie. His word was his word, and that was that.

Having Katara, Toph, and Zuko around him? He liked that. He really did. There was a feeling of… _I don't know yet. But it's a good thing. _He watched the tall man in silence before speaking again.

"You know what, Zuko?" he stated.

"What is it?"

"You're not half as bad as you want to think you are!" he said brightly, and chuckled as the Firebender looked at him in soft confusion.

* * *

Sokka knew that all of them craved an explanation. They each had been taken from their duties, summoned with haste to meet their leader. Now, Len, Sangok and Bato were walking the edge of the camp with their leader, as Sokka told them the facts.

"Forgive me, sir, but she's an Imperial officer. One of high rank." Sangok muttered, "How can we just trust her on this?"

"We've had a few Imperial officers defecting to our side over the years, Sangok." Bato noted, the oldest of the four men keeping watch. Out of all of them, Sokka knew, he had the best senses, honed by many years of guerrilla warfare.

"Minor officers, Bato." The scarred Waterbender answered, his eyes gleaming. "Nothing like this! I say it's a trap! Ty Lee is one of the two closest advisors to Azula herself. This is an opportunity to extract information from her!"

All through this, Len stayed silent, but the young leader felt that he approved of Sangok's words. Bato having been his father's friend, Sokka also felt that the Water Tribesman, although trying to play the part of the peacemaker, also had deep reservations about the current situation.

Sokka couldn't find it in him to blame them. They didn't know Ty Lee like he did. Over the years, he had learned her character, and her personal disgust for what Azula and her father were doing. He trusted her without a problem. That meant that they had no choice except to do the same.

"I have all the information I need!" he growled fiercely, "She told me that Ba Sing Se's Outer Ring will be devastated as a warning. The troop movements are easy to explain with that. That's more than enough for us to move."

They weren't convinced. He could tell. He was certain neither Usha nor Suki would like it, when they learned of his plan, either. Still, the deeper connection to Ty Lee, he felt, couldn't be revealed just yet. _It might… still be useful_, he thought, reluctantly.

"So you trust her word." Bato stated. It never sounded like a question at all.

Sokka shrugged at that. "Can't help it. If she's right, Ba Sing Se might be saved." He answered calmly. "Or are you all ready to take the chance, and be wrong? What'll we do then: bow, say we're sorry about all this? Their trust in the Resistance would just vanish then and there."

"We're talking about trust right now, Sokka!" Sangok replied, "You're a good leader, but I can't follow you just on that! It's too big. And what's to say Suki's not in on Ty Lee's scheme?" he mused, "Remember, we have a mole."

The young man who had reluctantly followed his father as leader in the Resistance gave his subordinate a look which might or might not have reflected his feelings. What Sangok had said had been so unnatural that his brain had been unable to accept it. _Suki, the best and proudest of all the Kyoshi Warriors, a traitor?_

"That's going too far, my friend." Len answered, speaking for the first time since he'd arrived. "We've fought with Suki for years. We know her worth."

"That's right! Maybe I'm being a fool, but whatever feelings I got for Suki, it has nothing to do with her integrity. Subject's closed as far as that's concerned."

Sangok looked displeased. Then again, as far as Sokka knew, he always looked that way. Yueh had once told him that he used to be a gentle, if unremarkable, young man. Many things had changed since then. Now, few crossed this man, who barely tolerated Firebenders in the Resistance, no matter how useful they were in combat.

"Let's talk about Ba Sing Se, then." Bato offered, "If we choose to believe her, what can we do?"

That was the best question Sokka had heard ever since he'd first exposed the problem. For all of the problems the Resistance had caused the Empire, it wasn't able to do much to counter it strength-wise. They didn't have the numbers. And, currently, they didn't quite have something powerful enough to bring the people into revolt.

_Something like the Avatar? _A voice inside him teased, but he refused to listen to it. He'd been fooled by dreams all too often.

"We have to find a way to either force the Imperial forces to attack us… or we have to convince them of what they're about to do." He reasoned, "Personal feelings aside, I believe that most of the soldiers are just people. They might be lost in the battle and miss what they're doing in the heat of it, but if we tell them before they attack…"

"Risky." Len mused.

"Risky?" Sangok growled, "Completely insane's the way I see it!"

"Its insane to even oppose the Empire, though." Bato said good-naturedly, "I say we give it a shot. But they won't listen to people like us. Unless, of course, a figure of power talked to them… someone they're all but bred to listen to."

The young man closed his eyes. He knew what Bato meant, and who he meant. But he didn't think Zuko wanted anything to do with the Empire, his former home, anymore. Iroh's death had made him cut all bridges. _But did it cut the love he held for his people?_

"We'll have to try to fool them, then. Have Usha bring Ty Lee to our war room. We'll need her to plan something." He saw protest on all faces, and raised a hand to stop them, "That'll do, alright? We'll keep her tied up. And between the four of us, we can take her down. Lets take a bit of a risk, and see what happens."

Bato smirked at that. "Like father, like son. That's the type of crazy thing Hakoda would mumble to us back when we started fighting. Alright, Sokka, I'll play the game with you like I did with him. Let's go prepare, you two."

As the three went back to camp, Sokka remained where he was a moment, and looked around him, at the calm greenery of the forest. _Like father, like son? Heh, what do you think of that, Dad?_

"Watch me," he mused as he began walking back, "Watch me, dad. One way or another, I'll make you proud."

* * *

Suki finished explaining the situation to Jet and the others of his inner circle, and waited, breathless. Fatigue was wearing down on her, caused by the stress of the past days and her recent run to get the plan to the hook-bladed swordsman.

Jet was leaning on the trunk which made part of the hideout, looking deep in thought. For some reason, what he looked like he was thinking interested the Kyoshi less than the expressions on the other faces.

Pipsqueak, his enormous bulk making the whole place groan as he shifted, looked uncomfortable. From time to time, he looked to Jet, as if waiting for instructions. The same could be said for The Duke, although there was an added gleam to his eyes, one she had always seen. Like Jet, she wondered at the young man's sanity.

Smellerbee and Longshot, however, looked different. Rather than looking at Jet, they looked at each other. It was clear that Smellerbee was upset about something, as he gently put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. Of them all, they had seemed the most upset at the news.

Still, it was nothing compared to how Bato, Sangok and the others of Sokka's leadership had reacted. It reminded her of something Iroh had said, a year before his death: that, in fighting the darkness, Jet and his people might well have lost sight of the light. _Something I should've thought about back then. Too late now._

"We can't let Ba Sing Se be ravaged like this!" Smellerbee finally said, "We gotta do something!" Behind her, with a hand on her shoulder, Longshot nodded. Rarely speaking, his body language spoke for him: he was behind the idea of acting.

"Yeah…well… hey, Jet, what ya think?" Pipsqueak muttered, looking highly uncomfortable. This caused the small, agile woman to turn her glare upon him.

"Pipsqueak, you idiot! Can't you give us your OWN opinion?!" she asked, and he scratched his head, still giving the silent Jet a look.

"One thing's good about it." The Duke mused, "With all those troops over there, they've left many areas poorly defended."

"That's not what's important, Duke." Suki retorted.

"Isn't it actually the MOST important fact?" Jet mused from his corner. His look speared them all, and the Kyoshi warrior felt a chill run up and down her spine. There was something… different… about that look.

From the way Smellerbee flinched, she'd seen it before. Pipsqueak, for his part, looked relieved, while The Duke looked rather gleeful. Only Longshot looked relatively unperturbed, although his frown deepened.

"This is a sign, guys. It can't be anything else." Jet said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "The world's finally giving us one big shot at the Fire Nation and its tyranny."

"We're not talking about the Fire Nation, Jet, or the Empire!" Suki grunted, although a part of her wondered if the man even listened to what she was saying. "We're talking about the citizens of Ba Sing Se! About innocent people!"

"Innocent? I don't see people who just accept the Fire Nation's grip to be all that innocent. But that's not the point, no, not one bit." He answered, and she was struck speechless. Of all the things he had said over the years, this might well have been the most heartless, a feat in itself.

"Thousands and thousand of Fire soldiers, of Firebenders, gathered in the city. A large part of their forces. Think! This is our chance to take them out!"

Suki wished she'd heard that wrong. Sadly, however, she knew that wasn't the case. Unwillingly, she took a step backward. She saw something in Jet's eyes, and it terrified her. This was the eyes of a man who'd lost something very precious in his soul. Question his sanity? _We're beyond that. He's insane, and I was wrong from the damned beginning!_

Ever since the very first day, she'd thought that she understood what she was going into. Sokka, she felt, was too preoccupied by continuing his father's work to really look into the captured Kyoshi warriors' whereabouts. She decided to choose another path.

Jet's path. The more reckless way seemed to be a way to gain information quicker. However, the years had passed, and she was still left with little information. She knew her captured sisters had been taken away somewhere in the Empire, but where was still in question.

_It doesn't matter now. It can't matter now. My sisters would never agree with what's happening here. _She thought furiously. _I can't afford to compromise anymore._

"Jet, stop this." She said, "This is wrong."

He looked at her for a moment, almost dismissively. Before he could say anything, however, she unfolded her fans and held them at the ready. That, if nothing else, got their attention.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "You want to turn against me, Suki?"

"I can't turn against you, Jet, because I don't think we ever were on the same side. Not really." She snapped, "I see it now, really. Why Sokka loathes you that much. You've completely forgotten your humanity."

Jet didn't really act like he'd heard, but he unsheathed his hooked blades, with which he had held his own against even powerful benders in the past. His contempt could be felt on his face, as the others looked on. Duke seemed happy for some reason, while the other three simply looked shocked.

"Is that what you want, Suki?" he asked.

"No… but I can't stand this anymore. Fighting you is a crazy idea." She mused, "But I'll do it. No matter what it takes you can't get to Ba Sing Se. You won't. That's a promise."

She came at him, and he readied his weapons to meet her, however, she jumped over him, and through one of the flaps leading outside, barely missing his powerful, precise swipe.

She grinned as she fell. He had thought that she was going to fight. And it was her usual way of doing things. Kyoshi warriors weren't trained to back away from their own challenges. _But I was taught to be unpredictable by a funny man, and he's rubbed off on me. See you soon, Jet. When you come, I'll be waiting._


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Twelve**

Katara looked at the beaming boy with more than a bit of uncertainty. She'd half-expected to have him ask about something on Waterbending, but the way he'd come about it had been really surprising to her.

"You want _me_… to teach you how to Waterbend?" she asked slowly. He nodded vigorously. "Why me?"

"Well, who else do you see around here?" he asked, as if _she_ were the child, and asking something both amusing and silly. "You're the only one on the ship who's a Waterbender!"

She couldn't disagree with that point. A few of the people on the ship had some Firebending skills, though they seemed to pale before Zuko's. Toph, of course, had shown the strength of a truly powerful master Earthbender.

But there were no Waterbenders. Toph had told Katara, during a healing session, that the Waterbenders of the Northern Water Tribes were too few down south to be risked that way. Katara was truly the only one of her kind on the ship.

"Yeah, I guess so." She stated, then she frowned, "But there's Zuko, and Toph. They're really strong Benders. Why didn't you ask them?"

"Zuko's busy getting the ship together. He talks when he has time, sure, but teach Firebending? He doesn't have that kind of time." He answered.

"Gee, thanks." She muttered with a half smile. The boy immediately looked flustered.

"I… I didn't mean you're not doing anything! I just meant that…!" He stopped as she chuckled. _He gobbles what we tell him so easily… he hasn't been around sarcasm a lot._

"Its okay, Aang. I know I'm not as busy as Zuko. And Toph, well, I guess asking her anything big right now's a bad idea." She put her hands on her hips. "Waterbending, right? Why not? But I've gotta tell you, I didn't learn my style at any school or monastery. My style's self-learned and rough."

"That's great!" he exclaimed, "It means you're really gifted!"

That really touched her, she had to admit. Zuko and Toph had both already told her how surprising it was that she'd learned everything by herself. Even Toph had admitted that a master had taught her the basics, and that she'd used her second sight to learn more.

But to have it from the Avatar himself, a boy she already saw as family, was even more endearing than their praise. She had missed the bond she'd had with her brother. She felt a similar bond – albeit a weaker one – forming with the young monk.

"Okay, then. Let's start by taking two buckets of water. That'll be a nice start for that."

The crewmen were nonplussed when they asked for buckets. When Katara said it was for Waterbending sessions, however, they didn't only provide it, but actually came around to see. With her hands, Katara drew water from the ocean and filled the two buckets.

The muttering crewmen were bothering her a bit, but Aang seemed oblivious to the few who were loitering about. He was looking at her intently, with eager eyes. _You want to learn this that much? Okay, then._

"Okay, Aang. The first thing you need to do is feel the water. You're already a Bender, so I guess you don't need to be taught the basics, I guess. Watch what I do."

She put her hand over the water a bit and then lifted it up, looking at the water, feeling it with her mind. When her hand rose, the water in the bucket rose as well. When it descended, the water followed.

She did it a few times, grinning. She had felt her connection to the water as a child, but it had been years before she felt anything useful, and months before she could do that very simple trick. She grinned at the boy beside her.

"This is a really small thing, but it can be a bit hard at first," she began, "So if it doesn't work out the first time, you should just keep at…" She stopped in disbelief.

Aang was already pushing the water up and down, looking at it with some amusement. He giggled and, for a moment, looked only like a child who was pleased of having gotten a trick right. He grinned at Katara widely.

"Hey, this is pretty fun! Waterbending's nice!" He said and then suddenly blinked at her. "What's wrong?"

She realized that she was staring. More than that, she also realized the knot of envy, of jealousy, taking hold in her heart. _It took me months to do that much. Months._ That the boy could do something like this with ease within a few moments…

_Stop. What are you saying, stupid girl? _She admonished herself, _I tend to forget it, but he's the AVATAR. He's linked to the Four Great Elements better than anyone in the world. It's normal that his learning rate's so fast. _Still, the envy persisted.

"It's… its just that I'm a bit surprised." She stated, trying to control the tone of her voice, "I mean, you picked it up so fast!"

The young monk grinned sheepishly at this, letting go of the water as he did. Once again, he did this with an ease which surprised her. She had never doubted, from the stories, that the Avatar was a powerful being. But if he could learn all the elements that well…

There was no need to worry. Katara had seen enough of Aang to know that, if nothing else, the boy wasn't someone given to corruption. She could trust him.

_You trusted your brother, too. He still left you. _A voice told her. She ignored it as she always had. Her anger at Sokka had nothing to do with Aang. She wasn't about to mix things up in her own feelings.

"Alright, then. I guess you don't need to keep to the simplistic, basic moves. How about we move on to the bigger techniques?" she asked. Aang nodded quickly, and the few crewmembers around the place looked rather eager. The young woman smiled at the Airbender.

_How about just one tiny bit of childish fun? Just to vent childish frustration? _She asked herself, and began bending.

* * *

Zuko spotted Toph before she could actually go back to her quarters. He quickly walked towards her, and she turned around at once, as if ignoring him. It only infuriated him further, since he knew her second sigh better than most.

"How long are you going to hide?" he all but shouted. No one was here – _thank the Spirits for small favors_ – and the fallen Prince was at the end of his patience. Although he knew what she was going through, he wasn't about to let the woman just walk out.

She didn't turn around. Only her head turned slightly. Her blind eyes appeared to look at the floor, which somehow made her seem all the more disinterested. The young, scarred man knew better, however.

"My, you've got a nasty tongue today, Flame Brain…" she told him, almost gently. By that time, he'd gotten to her. He saw that she was slightly hunched over which – especially recently – was a clear warning sign. Toph wasn't happy.

Sadly for her, Zuko was one of the few men who'd seen the warning signs so often, and braved them often enough, not to be affected. _You want to be stubborn? I can play that game well enough._

"How foul my tongue is or isn't, is not what's important here." he retorted with heat. He always felt unbalanced when dealing with the woman. His Uncle's teachings often flew out of the window. "Why are you hiding?"

"Careful, Flame Brain…" she began, her tone icy.

"No, I have no need to be careful. I'm right. You're running." He mused, and then did something only Iroh and Bumi had done and gotten away with: he grabbed Toph's shoulder and turned her towards him. "And you know I don't like to look at a person's back when I'm talking!"

As she turned around, Toph hand flew to his elbow, slapping him sharply. Zuko gritted his teeth as the pain shot through his arm – the Earthbender wasn't helpless, even without much Bending possibilities. Still, the prince kept a gentle hold on the woman's shoulder.

"Toph…" he began.

"Don't go there, Zuko." She warned.

He stopped. Not because of her tone – he'd faced worse than that without fear – but because of the fact that she'd used his actual name. Of all of the people in the Resistance, he had always been the one suffering from her nicknames the worst. For her to suddenly tell him to stop, while calling him by name, meant that things were even worse than he thought.

He let go of her.

"We've known each other for years, Toph. I think we're friends…" he shook his head, suddenly angry, "No, we're not children, I'm not going to go and pretend because it's convenient! We're MORE than friends! Maybe we don't know what to do with it, but that's the way it is!"

She didn't answer. She just looked ahead, around his chest. Still, she wasn't snapping at him, and that prompted the man to continue as fast as he could.

"More than friends, and I don't know what that means, really, but it means something." He growled, "So don't ask me not to go there! Talk to me, Toph! Don't push us away because you feel sorry about yourself!"

"Sorry about myself?" she answered, and there was a tremor in her voice, a deep emotion he couldn't pick up on the moment. "You think I'm feeling sorry about myself?" She lifted her head, and this time her unseeing eyes looked just about where his eyes were.

He almost took a step back. He'd never seen Toph so angry, and yet so frightened at the same time. The anguished, rage-filled face looked up as if she could see him as well as anyone else.

"You're damn right, I'm feeling sorry about myself." She growled, "I'm feeling sorry about myself because I've been tortured for days, suspended, blind, hurt. You got no idea how it was back there! NONE!"

"That's not an excuse for…"

"For taking a little time off? For wanting to be left alone?!" she snapped, and the tremor returned to her voice. This time, he recognized the tone. She was terrified. Of what, he couldn't tell.

"I don't care what you think! You think I'm being a coward, well you're the only one here who CARES!" she continued, "I'll deal with this the way I want to deal with it!"

"Pushing me away won't help!" he all but shouted.

"I KNOW! I KNOW!" she shouted loud enough, he was certain, for the Firelord to have heard the cry from his throne room, so far away. Zuko blinked in surprised as Toph's face lowered again.

"I know. I don't want to. I can't help it, Flame Brain." She told him, her voice lowering. "That's the way I am. I don't do subtle, and I can't talk it all that well. I get what you're saying. I'm just… not ready yet. Okay?"

She fell silent, and the prince found himself at a loss. The plea, although stated with stubborn pride, had been heartfelt. Although something in him ached, something else only wanted to hug the blind woman protectively. He sighed. _I'm not ready for a few things, either. Not right now._

"Alright, Toph." He said at last. "I'll let it go at that. Just remember that I'm here, okay? I'll always be here, whether you feel like it or not. Keep that in mind." And, with those parting words, feeling overwhelmed, he began to leave.

"Thank you, you Flame-brained idiot." He heard, and he whirled around, in time to see the door to his quarters – now hers – closing. He shook his head at that.

And the ache in his heart, which had started well before he had ever seen the Avatar, continued to silently gnaw at him. It wasn't something he was used to feeling. It wasn't something he cared to feel lately. But there it was.

"Bei Fong Toph, my friend, my comrade, my rival." He mused, then sighed. "And, Spirits, my stubborn lo... right. Whatever happens, I'm never going to let you fall." He stated, and returned to his duties as the ship sped back to the coast and the Resistance.

* * *

Suki ran through the forest as fast as she could. She'd surprised them with her angry rebuke, but she knew that they weren't the kind to let their guard down. They'd be after her quickly enough.

She wasn't all that worried about the lesser members in Jet's group. Although filled with zeal, these members didn't have the training that most Resistance people received. Even with such training, none of them had the stamina and dexterity to follow her and catch her.

The same couldn't be said of Jet's main group, however. His inner circle – Duke, Pipsqueak, Longshot, Smellerbee – were experienced warriors, every single one of them. She was certain she could defeat any one of them if the need arose, but it wouldn't be easy by any means.

And then, of course, there was Jet. Of all of them, he was the most skilled. She had seen him move, and she thought that the man was a match not only for her, but even for highly proficient, agile swordsmen like Zuko.

And, of course, there was Jet's madness. Although hidden behind the façade of a heroic figure, that madness had shone through more than a few times over the years. She hadn't thought that it would actually be a problem. She'd thought – naively, she saw now – that she could handle it.

_Then the guy turns around and talks of taking down the Fire Nation. He didn't care about anything else. Sokka was right! _That was the most damning thing about it, the part which caused her the greatest sadness. _Sokka was right from the beginning!_

Something caught her awareness, and she flung herself on the ground, just as an arrow whizzed over her head. She hit the ground, hit it, rolled away even as a second arrow embedded itself in the ground, and then again just as she reached the relative safety of a tree.

_Longshot. Only Longshot's good enough to shoot three arrows that quickly and that accurately at the same time. _She bit her lip. If Longshot was there, that was a problem. Of all of them, save Jet, he was the one she wanted to face the least.

She had barely formulated those thoughts that movement came from her right. Her fans opened and caught the first strike, even as Smellerbee came into view. Her short knives danced against Suki's fans for a moment, and then they separated.

Doing so, Suki came into range of Longshot's arrows, and only her reflexes rewarded her with him missing her a fourth and fifth time, as she flipped backward twice, to the back of another tree, keeping her attention on Smellerbee.

"I kinda expected it'd be you two." She told them, "Pipsqueak's too slow, and Duke's too arrogant. Jet wouldn't want any of them going after me."

Smellerbee stared at her a moment, her wide eyes seemingly uncertain. Finally, she lowered her arms slightly. "Suki, come back with us. Please. If we talk with Jet, I'm sure he'll look over your…"

"My what?" Suki countered, "My vision of reality? I was telling the truth, and look the way he took it! He didn't care about the people in Ba Sing Se! All her cared about was his revenge!"

"That's not true!" Smellerbee answered with heat, her blades rising. But Suki wouldn't stop. She had to reach those two, or she'd have to fight them. She didn't like the latter option all that much. She had grown to like those two, over time.

"You know it's true! You've seen his face, seen his eyes!" she retorted, frowning in response to Smellerbee's glare, "I'm not returning to someone like that! I'm returning to the person I shouldn't have left in the first place!"

"You mean Sokka?" the lithe woman answered, her tone disbelieving, "After all that, you think he'll just take you back?"

Truth be told, Suki hadn't thought about it much. All she'd known was that she wanted to be back at Sokka's side. Thinking about it, she realized that it might also be a foolish dream of hers. After all, she'd hurt the resourceful, determined man deeply.

"There's a good chance that he won't." she admitted, "But I know Sokka. We were friends and lovers for years. He'll be angry at me, he might push me out of his life – something I deserve, I think – but he won't hurt me. Know why?"

Silence met her question. Smellerbee just stared at her, as if wondering if she should attack. Once again she felt hesitation in the diminutive woman's attitude. She could only hope that Longshot was the same.

"Because, no matter what else he is, Sokka is someone who doesn't let himself be controlled by anger, by hatred. That's why, no matter what you say, I think he'll always be a hundred times the man Jet ever was!"

Smellerbee charged this time. It was a quick, skilful attack, but Suki was protected and ready. Her fans moved on their own, catching her blades, even as she tripped the woman and elbowed her to the ground. Smellerbee turned around at once, but Suki was already on top of her, fan poised. The victor was clear. _You're good, but not good enough._

She heard noise nearby and, to her surprise, Longshot appeared. A moment of worry followed, but she saw that his bow was at his back, his arrows in his quiver. He looked at the scene for a long moment and then, to Suki's considerable surprise, he spoke.

"We want to go with you." He said, quite neutrally.

Suki blinked. Of all the things she'd thought might happen, this wasn't one of them. And then Smellerbee nodded, her eyes saddened, almost broken.

"He's not a friend anymore." She rasped, "And I'm tired of feeling like a monster. Please, Suki… I want to go away from here, too!"

"You want to…" Suki muttered. It was impossible, as far as she was concerned. The two had been hesitant, true, but they'd been with Jet for so many years, their loyalty seemed so unshakable. Could she allow herself the luxury of giving them the benefit of the doubt?

And then she looked at them both, and saw Jet's face, with its charisma, its madness, shining as his revenge-filled mind hatched plots which hurt so many people. She saw him, and saw them.

And she wondered if she could afford _not _to give them the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

All of her life, Azula had wanted power. It was something she fully recognized in herself, and accepted with barely a shrug of her shoulders. She was simply, after all, doing what he family had been doing for generations – become the greatest empire the world had ever seen.

Sozin had started it eleven decades ago – although the stories went that he had tried to do so years earlier, but had been betrayed by Roku, the Avatar of the time. Souzin had used his keen mind to destroy the Airbenders and scatter the Air Nomads, often using talented men as Admiral Kazaki or General Genfu to further his goals.

Her grandfather Azulon had tried to expand the colonies, but the people had been tired, and his reign had been one of building forces, of little gains. Ozai had been different, pushing for a renewed invasion, and giving his daughter a chance to prove herself.

And she had. As she looked from Ba Sing Se's great, broken wall, she saw the companies of Firebenders, the vast Legions of the Empire, coalescing, waiting for her command. Power was what she'd wanted, and power was what she gained.

"So, Ty Lee has made contact with the Resistance?" she asked the officer bowing nearby.

"Yes, Your Highness. Our spies have confirmed it." the man bowed a bit lower, "They were unable to ascertain her position, however. The woods were… difficult."

Azula grinned. All those who would have given her one look at that moment would have only seen an attractive, black-haired woman garbed in the garments of high nobility. A second, look, however, would have had them shivering in fear.

The princess's smile, she knew, didn't have much real warmth within it. She'd never seen fit to foster it in herself. All that she ever showed was the gleeful mirth of triumph, as her eyes glittered with shrewd planning.

"It doesn't matter, captain." she simply stated, "She's made contact, and that's all that matters to me." _Ah, Ty Lee. You really think you've managed to elude me? No, I don't think you do. You think I'm planning something. You're right. Oh, yes, so right. _"Is there anything else?"

"I…I'm afraid so, Your Highness." the man seemed to consider his words carefully, "We've received word from Lady Mai. She reports… she reports that Toph of the Bei Fong family has been lost. Rescued by people of the Resistance."

She turned to the man, her attention no longer on the massing armies, no longer on her own need for power. Her smile had vanished. Rather a frown crossed her delicate brow. It was enough to make the captain blanch. She barely noticed.

"Saved? The Blind Bandit? By whom?" she asked, keeping her tone calm despite her irritation at the setback.

"It… it appears that… that the Exiled One defeated Lady Mai, and led the attempt." He answered, sweat appearing on his brow.

"Zuko…" She mused. _My dear, honor-is-all big brother, eh? Figures. He's been increasingly troublesome over the years. Bad enough that some of the troops seem to genuinely like him now. And now, he opposes me directly… because of honor, or because of Uncle Iroh?_

"There's something else. Amongst the ones fighting Lady Mai… one was said to be dressed as an Airbender. And, at one point, the entire Temple erupted in light. We don't know what to think of that, Your Highness."

"That will be all, captain." She answered, turning back to her armies. She looked down upon the forming multitudes without seeing them. She never felt that man's departure. All her thinking and emotions were locked inward.

Eruptions of light. It reminded Azula of things she'd heard. Temples in the Earth Kingdom had shown a similar phenomena, and many priests had been saying – despite the dangers – that the Avatar had returned. She hadn't believed it one bit. Now, however…

_This is silly. The Avatar Cycle is broken. Even if its not, even if he was that lucky, the Avatar's too late. We rule this world. _There were, of course, several major Earth bases and coves resisting, the Northern Water Tribe still seemed to be troublesome, and the Resistance was a pain. However, even combined, they couldn't manage to fight the Empire.

_Unless my brother and the Avatar join forces. Unless they use the Resistance and manage to sway people from the army to fight against the Empire. _A voice told her. She heeded it. She'd been hearing it for a long time, and she knew that it was right. The Avatar, her brother, the Resistance… apart, they were nothing. Together, they could be a problem.

But Azula had never been anything if not someone who didn't believe in defeat. They might be a problem for the moment, but her plan would see Sokka's group – the most thorny part of the whole Resistance, save perhaps Bumi himself – annihilated. Without that support, Zuko would never be able to do anything.

"Do we have word from our special interest?" she asked no one in particular. One of her aides answered at once.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And the enemy's plans?"

"We have them, Your Highness."

The Firebender in Azula burned with glee at this. Her plans were proceeding as well as could be expected. Her brother, the supposed return of the Avatar, all these things meant nothing to Azula. Soon, she would crush all opposition beneath her feet.

She knew that her father, Ozai, was extremely pleased at her actions, but she also knew that he kept an eye on her. He saw her rise in power, and he was concerned. _And you're right, Father. Zuzu might've been easy to manipulate. But I'm different from that poor fool of a brother. Your mistake to give me all this._

_After all, I conquered Ba Sing Se. I made your Empire. You sit on the throne for now, but only for now. You taught me to be ruthless, after all! So, now, I want more, of course! I want it all!_

Looking down at the masses, Azula's frown disappeared, and her smile returned. All was right in the world, after all.

* * *

Aside from armguards and leather protectors for his legs, Sokka never wore much as far as armour went. He had never been a fan of it at all, like several of his comrades. Hakoda, too, hadn't been very keen on the concept. As such, the father and then the son had crafted a fighting force based on speed and reflexes.

He had weapons on him, of course. His boomerang on his back, always at the ready. A short, sharp sword at his left hip, and a bag containing certain devices at his right. He was ready. He actually grinned when he looked at his people.

Len, the best Earthbender he had in Toph's absence. Usha, leading the small contingent of Firebenders. Sangok, gleefully prepared to leader his Waterbenders. And then, of course, Bato. A quick-witted warrior who knew more about fighting than everyone else in the group, he would lead the ragtag force of non-Benders.

"You've all made the call. How many people can we count on?" Sokka asked. It was Bato who, as usual, smoothly took the lead in talking.

"Thirty-two Earthbenders for Len, Usha has nineteen Firebenders. Sangok, I think, had about forty of his Waterbenders…"

"Forty-four." The scarred man growled, his eyes gleaming.

"Right. Sorry. Forty-four. And I've managed to get a bit over two hundred people, including all the small groups we could sway. We can throw three hundred people at this."

Usha, who somehow looked so much like Zuko, now looked nothing like him. She was giggling openly, fear and elation mixed. She wasn't used to fighting, and both frightened and excited by the prospect.

"Three hundred people against an army of, if we're to believe Suki and our own scouts, number roughly thirty thousand soldiers." Sokka summarized with a shrug, "With Imperial Crown Princess Azula herself thrown in the mix for good measure."

On the table, Sokka studied a map of Ba Sing Se's area, with the position of encampments. The muster, the scouts stated, seemed to be complete. They were out of time. He brushed his finger against a marble to the North, then one to the East, and finally one to the South.

"One hundred to one odds aren't good, no matter what you say, Sokka." Len mused, "We'd just be throwing our lives away. Pointless, and not your style."

"Its not. We don't have the strength to fight them head on. But we'll make them hesitate." Sokka pointed to the three marbles. "If we strike these points in quick succession, we can give the illusion that a force many times our number is attacking."

They looked at the three points, at the map in general, then at him. They didn't question him openly – Sokka's quick wits and planning abilities had kept the Empire from finding them, had kept them alive – but they did show doubt, except Len, who nodded.

"Underground passages." The Earthbender stated, "They haven't mapped most of them. We could use them, go right underneath them quickly. Risky, really, risky. But… feasible."

"And then what?" Usha asked with a grin which tried not to look too excited.

That was the part that Sokka had worked out, the long shot he had thought of. If the army was destabilized enough, if they were a large enough thorn. If his messages got to the other leaders, to Bumi. If they could make a large enough hindrance. Lots of ifs, but if they _could…_

"If things work for the best, we can draw Azula herself, prick her pride enough to come into the fight." He answered, slamming his hand down on the map, making marbles fly. They looked at each other again. He smirked. "I know how slim the chances are."

He flexed his arms a bit. Although not a man whose natural built was made to be muscular, ten years of leading a resistance group had toned him well. He looked at his forearms and nodded, before looking at his people a bit.

"We've been hiding for years. The Earth Kingdom's remaining forces are stuck behind a few bases, the Northern Water Tribe has its hand full keeping the Empire from gaining a real foothold at the north pole. Ba Sing Se's fallen, the Earth King is probably dead." Sokka mused, "But I'm tired of running. It's a long shot, and its probably not going to work."

He let that sink in a moment, before continuing. "It might not work, but if we can make her get serious, maybe we can show the people of the Earth Kingdom, of the Water Tribes, even those Fire people who disagree with Ozai…" he mused, "Show them there's still hope!"

Bato gave him a look, a faint grin on his lips. Sangok and Usha looked almost gleeful, although there was something sick and warped in the former's eyes. Len simply seemed pensive, a rock showing both his merchant roots and his status as a powerful Earthbender.

"Why not?" Bato mused, "Its better than letting a massacre happen! At least we'll be able to live with ourselves, or die content, whichever it is!"

"You can count on me!" Usha said excitedly. Sangok nodded, as did Len. Sokka took a deep breath at that. It was becoming harder to command these days. He missed Zuko and Toph. He missed his father… he missed his sister. _But I can't let that stop me, can I?_

He was still wondering how exactly to respond to the show of support his people had given him, when someone actually banged on the door. One of his men, his face excited, came in as soon as it was opened.

"Sokka! We've received news, sir!" he told them at once. "At one of the western coves… Zuko's ship has returned! They say they've found Toph!"

Len gave a shuddering sigh. "Thank the Spirits!" Even as the others smiled. Sokka was a bit overwhelmed by the news. He was about to say so, when the man's voice cut through everything in his mind.

"And they say they have people from the Southern Water Tribes!"


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Dangling in the darkness, pain was all Toph could feel. She barely felt her hands most of the time, but any movement scraped the rope against her wrists further, and she found herself awash with searing agony. Her whole body felt like it was nothing more than a big wound.

She couldn't even shout insults to keep her floundering spirit up. After several remarks on her part, she'd been gagged, and forced to endure what they did to her. They struck her with fire, never letting her rest or sleep, always probing, demeaning, probing again. She couldn't take it anymore. _No. No. NO! Let me go! Please! Let me go!_

"LET ME GO!" Toph shouted even as she sat up in bed. Not her own bed, she knew, but one she'd made on the floor, from Zuko's sheets. It was his bed she'd woken up in. There was no danger here. She was safe.

_Safe. Safe from them. _She thought with a shiver. _Damn it, Toph! Why can't you put it past you?! You've had tough fights before. You've had hard times! So why can't you do it. Why can't … why can't I DO IT?!_

They'd hidden in the secret base for three days now, and she still couldn't leave the place. Toph wanted nothing more than to stomp on good earth, to announce loud and clear that she, the Blind Bandit, was back in action. She wanted the rocks to vibrate in welcome as she announced herself. For three days, it had been her greatest wish.

But she hadn't been able to. All that time, she'd stayed cooped up in the cabin, barely acknowledging the world. Every time she left, after all, it was always the same thing. There were the stares, but mostly there were the people themselves. People she liked, others she loved. Yet they all frightened her with what they were asking.

There was Katara. The strong Waterbender, always there for Toph, always so firm and yet so gentle, like a sort of mother. Then there was the Avatar himself. Every time she saw him, the boy went out of his way – annoyingly so – to be nice to her. He all but ignored her tone and brush-offs. He, she felt, was brotherly.

And then, most of all, even more than these two new friends, was the old one. Zuko had forced patience into himself when Iroh died, but his temper could still flare up. But not now. Now, he left her largely in peace. But she could feel it, through the metal. She could feel his pain, his worry. Mostly, however, she felt the affection he had for her.

Affection from Zuko. When she had met him, and for many of the following months, she'd barely tolerated the teen. Self-absorbed, arrogant, he was too prone to violent outbursts for her taste. She'd largely tolerated him for his uncle – Iroh had become a friend to her quickly, as he'd become a friend to everyone around.

But over the month, over the years, her distrust of Zuko had ebbed away, replaced by grudging respect, then sarcastic friendship and, then, slowly – and against her will – she'd begun to feel increasing affection for the man. _Stupid girl! _She told herself. It didn't help any that most of her no longer even fought the notion: she loved the arrogant, honour-bound Firebender. Only pride, she knew, had kept her from fully saying so. Sokka, from the way he'd sometimes acted, hadn't been fooled by it.

But now. Now she didn't feel like opening up. Pride, she could have worked around given time. But, now, there was something else. Something insidious, tightening a noose around her neck, pressing against her heart. A fear. A terror she felt every time she felt the Firebender in Zuko. It pushed her away from him.

She was being unfair. She knew that much. But she couldn't do anything about it. Every single time she felt the element of Fire in him – and he was _strong_ in that element – she was reminded of the times she was helpless, being tortured, her Earthbending powers useless to help her. And, every time she was reminded, her mind couldn't take it.

A knock on the door. She'd felt who it was from the deck long ago. Katara. Worrying. Unlike the monk and the warrior, the water tribeswoman had no qualms about visiting as often as possible. She was impossible to chase away.

"You can come in, Katara." She said, rubbing her face. The door opened. She felt the woman's presence coming closer. _Strong, but gently. Motherly. Annoying but endearing. Spirits… just being around the woman is making me edgy! She's so darn complicated! _She reflected.

"I'm still not used to you knowing who's coming in advance." The woman chuckled a bit nervously. Toph could feel she was searching for words. "So… how are you doing?"

"I'm a blast. Didn't notice. Rest and your cool bits of water healing have made me good as new!" she boasted, "I could take on an army now!" _As long as its not an army of Firebenders, that is…_

She hesitated. Clearly, from her breathing, her fidgeting, that wasn't quite the point of her question. Not that it was surprising. Any fool could see where it was going. Mothering. So mothering.

"That's… that's not what I meant, Toph." She said, and then her tone hardened. "You've got to stop hiding out here."

Anger welled in Toph, and as she stood on the deck, she felt the metal under her feet groan. Her ability to bend metal had helped her in many occasions, but she knew it wouldn't help her here. In any case, what good could she even do with it now?

"I'm not hiding!" she growled.

"Oh, no?" Katara growled right back. The motherly part was gone: she was all Waterbender now. "You're a liar. You're scared. Scared of going outside. Scared of Zuko."

"I'm not scared of anything!!" She shouted, and the mental bend this time. She stopped it quickly, but it was enough for Katara to notice. She felt of satisfaction. Toph gritted her teeth.

"Aren't you? Then come outside, Toph. Zuko's waiting, Aang's waiting. Everybody is waiting. They're all worried. And I can see all the people here want you back really badly."

Toph shook her head, and then sighed. She wasn't leaving. Katara couldn't understand it. In her mind, she was still a prisoner, still helpless. But at the same time, she felt just like the Waterbender. She knew where all this was coming from. And she knew she was crushing her own heart by doing all this.

_I… Zuko… I'm…

* * *

_

Katara saw that Toph was standing her ground. Every single thing she'd learned about the Earthbender, everything she felt, told her pride stopped her from acknowledging her own fears. It bothered her.

The woman annoyed Katara. Her language was crude, and she always seemed to think she knew more than you did. Despite that, however, she had found her endearing. There was something… vulnerable… underneath the prideful face and tough appearance.

"Why don't you go outside and talk to Zuko?" she mused. It was a harsh dig, but she was tired of being careful around her. She immediately regretted it when there was a slight flinch, and a look of pain crossed the blind eyes before disappearing.

_Well done, Katara, well done. Piss her off, then scare her. I'm sure it'll go JUST fine, _stated a mocking voice in her head, one sounding much like Sokka at his most acidly sarcastic. She hated that, and hated herself for causing it.

Ever since their mother had died, Katara had tried to fill the void as best she could. She'd cleaned and cooked, and did the chores around the house. Her father, she supposed, had let her do it for her own sake, and Sokka was fine with it.

But she also had a need to control. She'd done it to Sokka, and now she felt like doing it to Toph. However, she saw the way the conversation was going: she wouldn't budge, she'd only get hurt. With a huff, Katara let go. This battle couldn't be won.

"Everyone's worried. Remember that, okay?" she said, and left before the other woman could respond. She closed the door behind her, and gasped as she found Aang right behind her, looking mildly worried.

"Is she better?" he asked. He quirked his eyebrows expectantly, in still-childish naiveté. It was always hard to believe that this boy was actually the Avatar, an Airbending master who was quickly learning everything she knew about Waterbending.

She shook her head. "Not yet. She's been hurt really badly. That takes time." He looked at the closed door in response, his face that of sadness, pity and eerie understanding. Katara, for her part, couldn't say that she could have weathered what Toph had nearly as well. She kept her silence.

"Zuko's really worried about her." The young monk mused.

"I know, Aang." She answered. The Firebender's worry was something everyone on the ship and the base had seen. Only an idiot would've missed it. "I know you want to help, but this isn't something we can rush."

"Yeah, I get that." He walked along the corridor a moment, lost in thought, before brightening up. "This place is incredible. And Zuko's gone to meet a really important guy. One of the Resistance leaders!"

"What?" she asked, not really paying attention. Then what he'd said hit. "Wait, what? A Resistance leader? Who?!?" She asked, grabbing him by the shoulders frantically. The young Avatar looked taken aback by the sudden burst of attention.

"W-well… a guy named… I think his name is… Sokka. Right! It's Sokka." He answered after a moment, and that was all she heard afterwards. Without wasting a moment, she grabbed the boy's arm and began to run. "Wha… w-what's with you?!"

She didn't hear him at that moment. All that she saw was the corridor, then the ship's deck. Without missing a beat, she sped down the planks linking the ship and the hidden port. She barely saw the figures coming towards her. It took her a moment to focus as they stopped.

She panted, even as she saw Zuko turn towards a man standing next to him. "You made good time. To get here in only a day…Earthbending?" he asked, but the man next to him didn't even seem to register the question. He kept looking at her like she was a ghost.

Her eyes widened. He had grown taller and stronger, and there was a weariness on his face, something he never allowed himself to show when he was still in the village. But that face couldn't lie. She'd known it ever since she could remember. Always there, playing with her, arguing and fighting, always there.

"Sokka?" she asked, her voice annoyingly small and timid to her ears. He seemed rooted to the spot.

"K-Katara? That's really… really you?" The man asked. This man with a different voice. _He's changed so much in nine years, _she realized. She stared at him for a moment, numb, lost, no words coming to her.

And then, unbidden, something caught hold of her mind. And empty bed, a short farewell letter, the children of the village crying over losing their beloved 'big brother', the despair the place felt… she saw it all. She felt it. And her mind reacted to it within a moment.

She reached out with her hand, and the water came easily, easier than ever before. She gathered it and, with a cry, she flung it towards her brother. Rooted to the spot as he was, he barely seemed to notice, and was flung back several feet, falling on his back. Suddenly, everyone seemed to be moving, some away from her, some towards her.

She didn't care. She only remembered the pain, and the anger. The betrayal. As Sokka rose to his feet, that was all she could feel. She'd never been patient. She'd always had a temper. Now it was bursting forward with a ferocity she could barely control.

"Sokka… you… you _betrayed _us!" she growled, and even though a voice inside her told her not to do it, not to do something she'd regret, she just did. Waterbending, she attacked her brother again, her vision a red haze.

* * *

If it had been a decade ago, Sokka would have either frozen or flung his arms to ward off what couldn't be warded. He had been young in those days, and his skills were still mediocre at best, all despite his bravado.

But ten years of dodging fire blasts and fighting trained soldiers had honed him. He pushed surprise, shock, everything unusable to the back of his mind. He saw the threat. It was a direct water blast. Nothing fancy, he saw. He threw himself to the side and rolled, narrowly missing the second hit.

He struggled to his feet, and had just enough time to see what was happening. Katara was manipulating water, while Zuko's hands had strayed to his swords, even as wisps of fire emanated from his being.

There was also a boy, standing just a bit behind Katara. Although clearly shocked, he seemed about to make a move as well. And that was without taking all the other Earthbenders, Firebenders and Waterbenders around the base. There were about twenty in the base alone. If it continued, they'd simply use concentrated force.

"Zuko! Keep the others back!" he shouted even as he ducked under another shot. "I'll handle this one, got it?"

The prince seemed clearly displeased by the entire chain of event he'd just witnessed, but the fact that he took a step backward told enough of the story for Sokka to be satisfied. However, he knew Zuko wouldn't stand by for long. He had to stop this fast.

'Divert attention. Keep moving.' Rang through his mind, the voice of cold experience. Bits of woods, rocks, small boxes – he threw everything he could at Katara, forcing her to instinctively redirect her Waterbending.

She was powerful, he realized with brotherly pride, but unskilled in combat. He zigzagged, always moving, getting closer, dodging, straining. He never thought of using his weapons for a second.

"Okay, sis, you've made your point!" he called breathlessly as she manipulated more water. _Man, a normal Waterbender'd be starting to tire after all the redirections. I've never seen something like this, except in Yue. _"You've got a right to be angry, but this is just stupid! Calm down and we'll talk. Kid, whoever you are, don't interfere!"

"But…" the bald youth tried to interject. Sokka wouldn't have it, even though he understood the situation was relatively dangerous. _Relatively because… if she's that strong, then those shots are meant to hurt, not to kill._

"No but! This is business between us Southern Water Tribesman!" he growled. Katara glared at that, tears streaming down her cheeks. Suddenly, for a moment, he felt that he was a decade back, seeing his sister weep, and his heart ached.

"You abandoned the Southern Water Tribes! Just like dad! We needed you, but you weren't there!" She snapped, and water whirled around her. He crouched defensively, waiting.

"That's where you're wrong, Katara." He shot back, "I never hid my desire to go to Dad one day. You, Gran-Gran, Spirits, heck, the whole place knew it by the end! And you're blaming me for something I told you I'd do?!"

She didn't respond. However, the water seemed to hesitate, to become somewhat sluggish. This was the chance to pounce, to take her down. And then he'd really be able to…

…to what? To knock out his own sister? He smiled grimly, and stood up. _Yup, Dad, guess I can't go against family. I'm a lousy soldier that way. Still, I don't think you'd mind this. Nope, not at this._

He stood there for a moment, not sure of what would happen. It seemed to resonate in Katara as well, as she looked at him in increased agitation. Her fists were shaking, and her anger palpable. And yet she did nothing at all, except stare at him.

"Dad's dead?" she asked, and this time her voice was laced with a deep grief, and bitter accusation. This time, however, he fully felt it. On this, he had some explanations to give. _She deserves that, at the very least._

"Yeah…" he mused, surprised with how much just saying it hurt. Even after several years, that wound hadn't healed. It had been partly because of Zuko's similar ordeal that the two had truly become friends. "Yeah, he's dead."

"You should've told me." She mused, and then she began to sob. The water splattered to the wood and earth the shipyard was largely made out of. "You should've brought me along! I'd have gone with you! Weren't we supposed to always do these things together?!?"

The boy near Katara closed his eyes and turned away, seemingly disturbed. Sokka, for his part, only stood there. This was too fresh to Katara. The anger was overwhelmed by sorrow, but he'd known that type of rage – it simmered for a while.

But he couldn't deny what she'd said. He had thought that seeing his father, joining him in battle, had been his personal quest. He's thought that a girl like Katara shouldn't get involved. Even after all the times he'd seen superior female fighters at work, he'd clung to that belief.

_Yeah. Not nearly as smart as you brag yourself to be, huh? No wonder Suki left you. _He told himself bitterly. And with that, knowing that this alone would never actually bring about any healing, he did the only thing he thought he could do.

Without a word, Sokka crossed the space between his sister and himself, and hugged her fiercely. _I've missed you. I've always missed you, Katara. _He mused to himself, but he didn't say it. This wasn't the place. He had to settle the place down, settle his people down, make sense of everything.

_But we'll talk, Katara. And when we do, I'll take all the blame you want. Everything, _he promised himself.

* * *

Suki wasn't foolish enough to put her back to them, no matter what they said. She'd been involved in too many battles and ambushes to make that sort of mistake. She asked them to walk where she could see them, and she never paused even a moment while traveling, rarely slept at all.

As it was, her years of training were paying off – she was able to hold on to her energy despite her constant running. Fear powered her, she knew. Fear of what lay behind her, probably furiously pursuing. But, mostly, fear of what lay in front of her.

She'd be seeing Sokka very soon, and she had no idea what she was going to say to him. Were she him, had the roles been reversed… she wasn't certain she'd even try to listen to him, much less forgive.

Sokka had been there for her when she'd lost her sisters. She hadn't been there for him when he'd lost his father. No matter how she tried to rationalize it, the result was the same: she'd let him down, badly. All she could do was appeal to his natural kindness.

"You're certain Jet's not going to search in this direction?" she asked Smellerbee. Asking Longshot was, after all, a waste of time. Unlike the older members of Jet's inner circle, Suki simply couldn't read the man's silences all that well, and he generally never spoke over details.

"Yeah. He told us to look for you south. Means he's probably not looking south. After all, he trusts us." The lithe woman replied rather crisply.

"Does he?" Suki answered, and continued before any protest could form, "Maybe he trusted you back in the old days, but if you saw his eyes, you'd know he doesn't trust anyone anymore. He's let his anger overwhelm him."

"It's not like hating the Fire Nation's a bad thing." Smellerbee retorted defensively. The other woman had remained prone to defending her former leader, even though she'd all but 'betrayed' him with her decision to leave.

"It's a bad thing, I say. Especially when you care about nothing else." She replied swiftly, "He's been letting his revenge get in the way of doing what's right for a long time, but what happened a few days ago was the last straw. He's lost himself."

She didn't voice other things, like the times when Jet and his people bullied Fire Nation citizens, and attacked civilian targets. Usha was adamant that Jet had been the one to destroy her village, something Sokka and Zuko believed. Suki, for her part, hadn't believed the younger woman in those days.

Time, however, had opened her eyes. She'd turned her back on expedience. If she saved her sisters because of Jet's style of justice, she'd be no better than Azula herself. And that, if nothing else, was something she intended to avoid at all costs. Then she heard a word from Longshot.

"People." He said simply, and stopped, flattening himself against a tree. Suki and Smellerbee immediately imitated him. The Kyoshi warrior cursed herself for being so sloppy. There WAS a presence.

Several ones, actually. She counted the footsteps, and realized that they were at least twenty. Too large a group for three people to take on, unless one had a powerful Bender such as Toph, Bumi or Zuko, something she definitely lacked at the moment.

"Military steps. Lined up." She grunted, gritting her teeth. "Imperial troops." She risked a glance, and there they were, marching through as if nothing could hurt them, clad in red-tinted armours emblazoned with the symbol of the former Fire Nation.

Her hands edged towards her fans, but she stopped herself. Although she wanted nothing more than to fight them in some way, even picking them off one by one would take too long. She had to go to Sokka, she had to tell him that Jet was even worse than even he and Usha thought. She had to tell him of the mess she'd created.

She had to ask him to forgive her for not being there for him.

Eventually, the group passed, and the three, after a long wait, grouped back. Smellerbee's wide eyes and the tension in Longshot's jaw told the agile warrior that she hadn't been the only one with a desire to fight.

"They've been moving groups around a lot. Azula's drawing them for one bloody act that'll taint the world for another century, surpassing even what stories say happened to the Air Nomads." Suki mused.

"She's really gonna do it." The other, smaller woman muttered to herself, as if dazed, "She's really going to kill off most of Ba Sing Se to prove her power."

Suki almost pitied Smellerbee. Almost. However, she sternly reminded herself that she and Longshot had certainly participated in the destruction of two villages. Those were acts she hadn't believed until recently. Now that she did, however, she couldn't look at them in the same light anymore. One way or another, she was through being blind.

_I'll save you, sisters, if you still live, _she promised silently, _but I'll never compromise what Kyoshi taught us long ago ever again. _It wouldn't be worth anything without Sokka, however. She was ready to grovel, if necessary, but she feared she might have opened her eyes too late. She turned her gaze towards her two questionable comrades.

"If we go to Sokka's group, or any group related to the Resistance, it won't be easy." She reminded them, "Jet was never a popular person amongst them. I may have some trouble at length, but you two will be seen and treated with anger and fear. Are you prepared for that?"

They looked at each other, and Suki saw the flash in their eyes, the love they had for one another. THAT was the reason she gave them a chance, that she hoped they could be saved in some way: people like Jet had forgotten love like that long ago.

Smellerbee looked back at her, eyes face determined. "It's better than going back. We've come this far, we'll keep going." Beside her, Longshot gave a firm nod. Suki actually smiled at that. It somewhat reminded her of the trust and affection she and Sokka had once shared.

"Then let's go. We've got a lot of ground to cover." She told them, and they began to travel again, always listening for the pursuit they all knew would eventually come.

* * *

Ty Lee knew as soon as they entered that the three men weren't here for anything she was likely to enjoy. Everything about them read of contained contempt, of the sort of hatred that shrivelled one's soul. And it was, unless she was really getting rusty, all directed right at her.

She had felt them coming, and was prepared when they entered. However, before she could do anything, earth sprung up and grabbed her ankles. A strong tug wouldn't move it. _Got sloppy. That's just not funny at all._

There were three men. Two of them were dressed in faded uniforms of the Earth Kingdom's military forces, and one was dressed in the blue styles of the Water Tribes. This last one was the leader, she immediately saw it. With a face more damaged than Zuko's had been, his eyes glared at her as icily as the climate he had been born in.

"Why, hello there!" she answered cheerfully, hiding her unease as well as had always done. "What's up?"

The burned man grinned, and there was something menacing in the way he did. "I just want you to understand a few things about us, Imperial." He answered in a cracked voice. He gestured to his comrades, who raised mounds of earth to grab her arms.

She fought down the fear, did not struggle. She didn't only do it to deprive them the situation of seeing her agitated, she also did it because she knew it was useless to try. And fear, she knew, would be useless in this case. Counter-productive. She'd been in too many fights to act otherwise.

"It's gonna be a bit hard to have fun with me, you know," she drawled, although the concept was less than amusing to her mind, "Gonna be hard to get anything with all the Earthbending around here!"

"Like we'd want to soil ourselves by touching a double-dealing Imperial like you." The leader said in disgust. Then that grin widened. "But we don't need to actually touch you, do we?" As he said that, she saw him manipulated the water which had been given to her for her personal needs. The liquid gushed out at his command.

"You're not doing this smart. Why are you doing it? To get some kicks?" she asked, and she couldn't help but have tension in her tone at that moment. The fear was pressing hard against her mental defenses.

"You're Imperial. You're Azula's damned aide. I don't need another reason than that, I think." He stated, and the water rushed forward. It then, to her horror, begin to envelope her face.

She struggled then, dignity be damned, but there wasn't anything she could do to break the mounds of earth holding her, and the watery mask was holding firm against her face. Ty Lee realized then that she was likely going to die.

She struggled to hold her breath in. Maybe they were just going to play with her until she was unconscious, maybe not. But she wasn't about to give up the fight. She called upon all of her years of patient work at the circus, and in learning her martial arts, to calm herself as fully as she could.

_Can't…take it…for long. _Her mind told her after while. She was beginning to feel dizzy, and her chest was beginning to feel like molten lava. _Boy, what a lame way to… no… I can't go here. I gotta see… Ba Sing Se… saved from…_

_No! I don't want to die like this! NO! _She thoughts, and she focused all of her strength, cracking the earth surrounding her hands. She heard the Earthbenders cursing, clearly surprised by the feat.

However, the effort had taken its toll. Her lungs couldn't handle the strain anymore. Despair clutching at her soul, she tried to focus, but found that she couldn't keep her senses from overreacting. Her mind wanted air, and was about to try for it.

And then the water covering her face fell down with a splash, and she gasped for breath. She looked at her tormentors, wide-eyed, unsure, and saw that a small, unremarkable man had come in during her torment, and was staring at the Waterbender with cool fury.

"Whatever's your problem with her, Sangok, let it go." The man warned, "Sokka ordered that she be kept safe, and I'm not about to abuse his patience by letting you kill her. And I don't think that he'd be very happy if he learned what you did. Nor, for that matter, would lady Yue."

The man had been about to say something – what, she couldn't tell, but his damaged face had been drawn in fury. Sokka's name had made him hesitate, but it had been Yue's name – Yue of the Northern Water Tribes, she supposed – which had stopped him short. It appeared that Sangok had no will to cross that particular lady.

"She shouldn't be here, Len." he rasped, "She's probably trying to fool Sokka."

"I don't know about that," the unassuming man named Len mused, "But Sokka believes her. And if Sokka does, then we'll bear it, because we trust HIM. Get out, Sangok. And you two fools as well. Now."

Sangok glared at Len, who held his gaze calmly. Finally, with a snarl which reminded the panting Ty Lee of a Saberlion, the man exited the cell, with the other two following him closely. Len then looked at her, and stamped on the ground, liberating her feet.

"Thanks." Was all she thought to say. Was there anything else she could have said, anyway? _Not sure. Spirits, I'm still alive. Still alive. _"You saved my life."

"Sokka saved your life." He retorted coldly, "I'd gladly let him do whatever he wants. So your information's better be good, because if it's not, I'll be the one coming after you."

Ty Lee's knees buckled, so she quickly supported herself with the wall. Show no weakness. Ever. That was the way she'd survived the war. She only nodded at the man's words. They didn't surprise her.

"Yeah, its good. Believe me or not…"

"I don't." he interrupted bluntly, "But Sokka does. And I owe that man too much to stop following him because of my personal feeling. Sokka saved you. Remember that."

And then, he was gone, and Ty Lee allowed the shock to overwhelm her as she fell backward on her makeshift prison bed. _What a day. Can't tell how its going to end._

_Thank the spirits. I might still see this thing through. I might just find… redemption…_

With that thought, she drifted into an exhausted sleep.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Fourteen**

Wan Shi Tong, the Elder Spirit of Knowledge as many histories knew him, had seen much in his long spiritual life. Where many spirits eventually lose their memories and self, he was one of the few to remember, one of the few who could recall, if he truly strained, details from his actual life as a mortal.

He had known the beginnings of Man, had seen the struggles of the many tribes across the mortal lands. He had been present when the Avatar Cycle had begun, had seen the rise and fall of many nations.

In a time during which the two millennia of the Earth Kingdom's existence was considered short, the Fire Empire was but a speck, hardly noticeable. However, other troubles had taken hold of the ancient being lately.

The first had been when a young Firebender by the name of Zhao had managed to find his library – which he'd hidden from the eyes of humans long ago – and asked for knowledge. When such had been granted, the youth had rewarded the spirit with the destruction of Fire Tribe information, and managed to escape Wan Shi Tong's fury.

Another human had stolen in several years later. This time, the Elder Spirit had been ready. The man, name Zwei, had also asked for knowledge. Unlike Zhao, however, the new student took great care of the books, delighted in reading, and gradually grew attached to the place.

Oddly enough, Wan Shi Tong had also become attached to the man, sending some of his servants to gather food to feed the human, and engaging Zwei in conversation. Thus the great spirit, in his customary form, was pleased with finding the interesting human examining a bookshelf.

"Knowledge always accumulates," he said, "No matter how much one reads, one can never see the end of it."

The human had heard such things before. Such truths, the spirit had found, did nothing to dampen the man's own desires. As usual, Zwei – wrinkled, grey-haired, beaming – looked up at the spirit and chuckled.

"No need to be so gloomy, sir." He replied easily, "I'll do what I can with the time I have, and then… try to make sense of it before I pass on! So much of this knowledge is irreplaceable!"

The spirit was about to gently retort on that point, when a tremor actually shook the library. _No, not so, not so, _Wan Shi Tong reflected, _no tremor. A groan. Something not of this world. Something of mine._

The human had heard it, unnerving in itself. Zwei had looked up in concern, a rare event, as even the fall of Ba Sing Se hadn't moved him so much. "What was that?" he wondered, academic despite his shocked tone.

Wan Shi Tong knew what it was quite well: the walls between the mortal and spiritual worlds, weakening. A leak had occurred, and even his abode was starting to feel the strain. He felt around, felt the push of many lesser spirits, and shook his great, owl-like head.

"The world of humans and the world of spirits, meant to rarely interact as they cycle through the infinite, are now colliding with force, the key to it missed for so long." The spirit intoned. The human looked at him in confusion. _I could have been a tad clearer. _

"Has this happened before?" Zwei asked.

"To this point? Not since the four living elemental spirits imbued a newborn child and began the Avatar cycle. And that was eons ago."

Those had been dark days, when the laws of the mortal world and the ones of the spirit world clashed, often violently. The Avatar's creation had helped to alleviate this problem, and the Cycle of Avatars, closely similar to the Cycle of Life and Death, was begun.

"The world has felt the return of the Avatar, as I explained to you." The Owl-like spirit mused gravely, "But it had been… too long. The old seals are weakening, and then there is…"

"There is?" There was a clear eagerness in Zwei's voice. The man lived for knowledge. It was the driving principle in his life. But, although Wan Shi Tong was certain the human would never turn knowledge to destructive purposes, he stopped himself. _Decent conversation is so rare. I lost myself._

"Some things are best left unsaid. Please continue your research. Fear not, the power imbued in the Library will keep anything amiss from harming you." _For how long, however, is impossible for me to answer. _

Unwilling to think on it further, the great shape moved away from the intrigued human and began to wander through the myriad halls and bookshelves, losing himself in a sea of knowledge. He wasn't lost enough, however, not to feel a presence reaching through to him.

'Dear brother,' a mocking voice echoed through Wan Shi Tong's head. 'Still harnessing knowledge and allowing so few access to it. How spoiled of you.'

'Perhaps, although your price for knowledge is dangerous, and far too steep.' He mentally answered, 'Why do you call upon me, Koh?'

'Ah, I still can't get you to drop your guard, I see. Alright, I'll tell you: we're being called by La and Tui. All of us Elders.' Koh actually lost some of his mocking tone. He was concerned, Wan Shi Tong could see it. And that made him slightly nervous.

He knew without asking. It was clear as daylight. He knew the consequences better than any being in existence. Still, he fought hard to keep his worries in check. It wouldn't do to seem afraid in front of Koh.

"The Balance is fading, isn't it?"

'Right, as always.' Koh replied mockingly. Wan Shi Tong ignored him.

"La and Tui have called upon us Elders? Then we must go to them quickly. We must find a way to keep the two worlds apart from one another." He paused, then nodded to himself. "All of us are expendable for life to continue. I will not let this happen after all this time.

'Believe it or not, neither would I.' Koh stated, and his voice faded, leaving Wan Shi Tong standing there, alone.

And then he was off, heading for the place Koh had implanted in his mind: the new capital of the Northern Water Tribe.

* * *

Azula had always trained herself for one thing, and one thing only: to be the _best_. It had driven her existence for as far as she could remember. She didn't remember a time when her mind wasn't filled with ambition.

Her brother, Zuko, had been different. Gentle, thoughtful, thoroughly weak to her eyes, he'd been a disgrace. However, his gentleness had never been what set her off. What set her off was his basic unwillingness to fight for power.

He'd never understood power, her dear Zuzu. When she talked of planning, of conquests, or glory, he questioned and plodded along. How they were bred from the same line of great Firelords escaped her.

But she was thankful to her brother nonetheless. Although saddened at the lack of challenge while growing up, the realization that her brother would likely, if left unchecked, poorly guide the war effort – perhaps even attempt to reach a peace, of all things, she had resolved to take his place, to become the leader he would never be.

She carefully merged her energies, pivoted, released, and watched as lightning lanced towards the sky. Another perfect moment of Firebending's highest artform. Azula wouldn't have anything less.

"I'm getting tired just watching you." Came a slightly irritated voice. Azula didn't turn from watching the sky pensively, only smirked. Only one person she knew could even think of addressing her that way, much less get away with it.

"Welcome back, Mai." She mused, turning to see her most loyal subordinate – and perhaps the only person she still considered a friend – walking towards her. Mai showed no sign or her ordeal. Dressed in deep reds and black, the powerful noblewoman and fighter had her usual look: bored and fatalistic. "It seems your last mission went badly in the end."

"It was a stupid moment to be in," the other woman retorted at once, completely ignoring the underlying threat in the crown princess's words. "Even you couldn't think the Avatar'd show up. He did. We were surprised. We lost. At least it wasn't boring."

Mai went and pulled a chair near Azula's training space – once an Earthbending training space for the elite Royal Earthbenders the Earth King maintained. The Firebender grinned, this time genuinely. Mai's calm aplomb – and her simple, genuine loyalty – were things she liked intensely, despite it all.

Azula found that she didn't care much about losing Toph. Capturing the Earthbender had been part of her father's plans to undermine the Resistance. Azula, who'd fought those very people for several years, knew that she meant nothing in the long run. Capturing one person, even one as important as the Blind Bandit, wouldn't change the underground war.

"Yeah, that was a shock here too." Azula noted. Mai raised an eyebrow. "Really! We were all shocked about it! Who'd have thought…after all these years…"

That was true, and there was no denying it. The Avatar, reappearing after eleven decades! After all the talks of the Airbenders being attacked and destroyed by her great-grandfather's armada, the Avatar's arrival was strangely…fitting

"So what's he like, the Avatar? Is he an Airbender?" Azula asked. She found that hard to believe, yet several powerful Benders had been known to live to extremely advanced age. It was possible, and she would never neglect any possibility.

"That's the thing, Azula." Mai responded, and there was a bemused quality to her as she did. She frowned in what appeared – to the Crown Princess' shock – as outright puzzlement. "That was the Avatar – the light show proved it. But that Airbender… was just a kid. Twelve, thirteen? No more than that."

Azula, who was about to got back to her exercises, dropped all interest in them as the comments entered her mind. The impossibility of what she'd been told shook her to the core. It was an unpleasant sensation: she hated being caught flat-footed.

"What's that?" she growled, glaring at Mai, who seemed unimpressed by the whole thing. "Is that a joke? No, it can't be. You don't joke." _You're a cynical bitch, Mai, but you don't joke around. Whatever you say, its always blunt and honest._

She thought about it. A child… even if the Avatar had managed to go underground, to start a family, to have children… no, it didn't make sense, the power wasn't passed that way. That meant… that meant that this Avatar was the original. It made no sense, but that was the only option.

_And who cares, anyway? He's here, and it's a bit of a pain._ She decided, then promptly put it out of her mind. If the Avatar became a problem, it wasn't going to be this day. Nothing the Resistance had done told her that they knew of it any more than she did. People like her brother, or Sokka, would've used such an asset before.

"My dear daddy dearest'll probably go fire-crazy over that." She settled for saying, "Which means he'll ask for a hunt as soon as he gets his act together."

"And what about you?" Mai asked, "Still a plan, even after Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee… that did rankle somewhat, to have had a friend setting out against her. But not enough for Azula to lose any sleep over that. The martial artist had been a good pawn, while it lasted. However, what Ty Lee kept forgetting was that, once in Azula's service, people never left it. Ever.

"EVEN after she left?" Azula grinned. She went back to her training, her Firebending, her ploys quite clear in her mind. Nearby, Mai sat to observe, dispassionately. Ever since that incident with Zuko years before, nothing mattered to the dark-garbed noblewoman turned assassin and interrogator.

"Mai, you don't get it, do you?" she all but purred.

"Enlighten me, then." Mai answered. Azula shot a new lightning bolt, and watched as it streaked into the sky.

"Ty Lee's betrayal, the failure with Toph, the showdown with the Resistance… I see all of it. Its all part of the greater plan I've got, Mai. All of it."

* * *

Sokka didn't quite know why, but he liked the kid. Although Katara and Zuko had each told him that he was indeed the Avatar of legend, most possibly the last living Airbender, it was hard to see anything but a bald monk who was working hard to catch up on the times.

They were walking through a tunnel leading from the cove to the forest lying nearest the secret assembly point. As usual, one of the Earthbenders was leading the way, comfortable in the underground space. Beside him, the boy stirred.

"You guys always travel in these tunnels?" he asked, with a hidden edge showing a sort of discomfort. Sokka briefly wondered why, then understood: while Earthbenders felt a sort of peace when underground, Airbenders must be feeling stifled.

"Yep. That's the way it is! Courtesy of the Resistance's Earthbenders and Bumi's crazed thinking!" he smirked. At Bumi's name, as with every other time he'd been mentioned, a special light flashed through Aang's eyes.

"Bumi built this?" he exclaimed, and there was a definite sense of joy in that statement. Sokka remembered that the elderly Earthbender had often said he, Aang, and someone – how decidedly ironic! – of the Fire Nation had been friends, and had exchanged correspondence for a while.

Details on that remained rather few as Bumi, contrary to his usual talkative mood, only gave tidbits and kept much of it to himself, calling him 'things from brighter times, when friends weren't forced apart by fate.' It always put the former King in a sad mood.

"Well, the idea of building tunnels isn't something new. A lot of us thought about it." he explained. It felt good, somehow, to talk with this kid. He felt a connection, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. "But Bumi got the crazy idea of always shifting the tunnels with Earthbending, so that only Earthbenders from the Resistance can find their way easily."

"Huh? What do you mean? There's more than one tunnel?" The young Avatar asked, looking around almost like he expected something to appear. Sokka chuckled. _Laughing, eh? I don't get to do that often these days!_

They came to a part of the tunnel which branched out into three separate directions. As Sokka and Aang looked, the Earthbender in front looked at the torch-lighted walls, then took the right tunnel calmly. The boy raised his eyebrows in excitement, while Sokka shrugged. Bumi's system was a secret known only to Bumi and the Earthbenders.

Sokka took the opportunity to look at the people travelling with him. They had each kept largely silent on the trip, clearly lost in their own thoughts, so much that the Water Tribe warrior had almost thought only Aang and he were following the guide.

Zuko and Toph walked a good distance away from each other. Sometimes, Zuko would throw a glare made up of mixed frustration and affection in the Earth woman's way. Every time he did so, Toph affected not to show any emotion, and Zuko returned to his brooding.

Toph, however, seemed to keep her attention only on Zuko, as Sokka spied her when the Firebender wasn't looking. Her face would briefly betray sorrow, and she'd tentatively touch her left arm, where Waterbending, Sokka noticed, still hadn't completely healed her burns.

This realization brought his attention back to the one who occupied his very thoughts, who had for several days. Feeling almost guilty of doing so, he turned and looked at his sister. Only to find her looking at him at the very same instant.

They hadn't talked all that much since their reunion, if it could be called that. Although he'd managed to calm her down, there was tension, and accusation, in her gaze. He knew exactly what she was saying, too: _you left us all behind, you bastard_.

It was true. He knew that. He'd left the village behind to pursue his father, and guilt – no, fear of guilt – had kept him from making contact again. _I didn't even tell Katara about Dad's death. How pathetic is that?_

He broke eye contact. He couldn't deal with that now. Azula was planning another one of her little games. She had superior numbers, and was one step ahead, as always. He couldn't keep his attention on Katara. _Or, rather, on the accusation I see in her eyes._

He noticed Aang's preoccupation, and decided to ease his mind a bit. He truly felt he like the kid, and it was better than thinking about his own failings, at any rate. "You don't like it here, do you?"

"No, no really." The Airbender said bluntly. "I'm not used to places like these. In the Temples, it was all about open skies and large, sunny rooms. This place… it's really stifling, like waiting to get crushed. I hate it."

"You and me both, kiddo. You get used to it though. After all…" He trailed off as he caught on to what the boy had said. Something in what he said, made a warped sort of sense. As he walked, he looked around himself, at the tunnel, trying to remember. Something about tunnels… in the Earth Kingdom... _something Toph told me about at one point. But what?_

Then he saw it. An idea, beginning to make his way into his brain, like a slithering snake. It was a harsh, rather cruel idea – something he might never had thought of in the old days. But given the odds he was being put up against, it might well be the only hope he had left.

Azula was playing her game. That they knew of her move meant that it might not matter even if they won. But it didn't mean he'd make it easy for her. _No way. Never._ He'd managed to surprise her before, with Iroh's aid. Now, he was going to have to do it with everything and everyone he could.

"Aang?" he mused.

"Huh?"

"Thanks a lot for the help." He stated, and felt the thrill – this cruel part of himself which he was more frightened of than anything physical – stir within himself. He had a plan now. He grasped a way to DO something.

To Sokka, that was all that really mattered on most subjects. _Watch me Dad. Just watch me.

* * *

_

There was no sign of pursuit. If anything, Suki found that rather daunting. For three days, they'd travelled, carefully. She knew that she, Smellerbee and Longshot were experts at this, and that they had been extra careful.

But she couldn't believe that it was careful enough to completely evade Jet. The charismatic and – she'd confirmed that now – insane warrior had made the woods his home for so long, he would certainly have found them by now.

"You think it's strange, too, huh?" Smellerbee asked her when they paused for a while. "He's not shown up yet. That's not Jet. He's always on the move. If he wanted us, he'd have found us by now."

The Kyoshi Warrior pursed her lips, frowning. It wouldn't made sense… unless it meant his own plans took precedence over their defection. _This guy's liable to mess up what work I'm sure Bumi, Sokka, June and the other leaders are coming up with. _

Longshot frowned, his expression changing ever so slightly and he suddenly readied his bow. Suki, in all the years she'd been with Jet's group, had become rather good at reading the silent man. However, as always, it was the smaller woman beside her who deciphered the message first, as easy as breathing.

"What're you saying, the place feels strange? It doesn't…" she stopped, drew her daggers, just as Suki unfolded her fans. Smellerbee's low voice became a mere scratch of a whisper "Forget that. I get what you mean."

The athletic Suki had seen her village attack, burning. She'd been through many battles, both mental and physical, since that. She's seen and felt many things, some of which would make many a hardened warrior quake.

But she'd never, ever, felt something like this. _Like something, right at the edge of my mind. Something's there, but… its not! Or at least… it's not _supposed _to be!_

She remembered the stories told by the old Iroh, about the Spirit World. That strange things were bound to happen without the Avatar. Herself and Sokka had been sceptical, if too respectful to voice it. Zuko, however, had looked grim, and that had only increased with time.

_Silly frights. Such powerful Firebenders, believing such things. _She'd felt a bit of disdain then. She regretted being so caught up in her own matters now. Because she knew one thing: this was something she had never felt before, and she couldn't believe that feeling came from seeing something which belonged in the mortal world with her.

A shuffle. No, a slither. No, not even that. Impossible to pinpoint. Nowhere, and everywhere. _Is that really what old Iroh meant?_

"We need to leave. This place, I think it's degrading… spiritually." She told the others. She could barely believe what she was saying. After her sisters had been led away in chains, she'd lost faith in such spirits. But now…

"Hey, you don't have to tell me twice. This is giving me the…" her voice suddenly went from a bare whisper to a shout. It contained such dismay and despair that Suki nearly leapt out of her own skin. "LONGSHOT!"

Suki whipped around, her eyes looking towards the spot where Longshot had stood, she was certain, a bare moment ago. Now, there was nothing. Nothing but the trees and underbrush of the forest. _No, that's not what Iroh was talking about. This is… something else._

"Longshot! Where are you?! LONGSHOT!" Smellerbee shouted, clearly not caring if everything within a mile came at them. Her eyes showed the shock of loss, the denial of it. Suki grabbed her arm, trying to pull her away.

"Smellerbee, this is beyond us. We need someone who knows about these things." She tried to reason. _Reason, yes. Deny terror with reason. _"If we go to Sokka's camp, maybe…" she cut off as Smellerbee wrenched her arm free, and ran towards the trees, around the place Longshot had stood.

"LONGSHOT! Answer me! I know you can! ANSWER ME!" she shouted, and Suki was saddened, but not surprised, at the heartbreak she felt in the other woman's voice. She understood it all too well. Smellerbee disappeared into the underbrush. Frozen a moment, the warrior went after her.

"Smellerbee, there's nothing we can do for now!" she pleaded.

"SHUT UP! I'm NOT leaving without him! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE MEANS TO…" in the middle of the hoarse, shouted rant, Smellerbee's voice cut off suddenly. Far too suddenly for it to be called normal. Suki froze in her tracks, her eyes wide. Terror seeped in.

She couldn't move. She wanted to, badly. Part of her wanted to run away, away from this scene. Another wanted to run for aid, to return with people who could actually understand, and help. Yet she stayed rooted on the spot. Her blood felt like ice, and only years of training kept her together.

"_Run, lamb._" Came a voice. A voice which sounded human, and yet not. "_Run! Run! RUN!!_" The word became laughter, hysterical, demented. It was the voice of something warped beyond recognition.

Suki ran.

She barely kept panic from overwhelming her. She ran towards the place she knew Sokka's camp to be. She had to see him, warn him. This was beyond her. Too strange, too sudden.

_What's happening to this world? _Her mind all but raved, but nothing could provide an answer. Behind her, the laughter receded, and then ended. Still, she kept running.

How long did she run? She couldn't say. When she fully came to her senses, however, the strange presence – the intangible dread – was gone. She was within a forest, with ordinary sounds. Perhaps hunted by Jet, who suddenly seemed like a very small concern.

Even Ba Sing Se seemed like a small concern now. This was bigger. She'd felt something far more dangerous at work. Something too dangerous. Her fear went away, and she collapsed.

_Gotta warn Sokka. Warn them all. Something's coming… something… awful…_

And then her body refused to take more. Blissful darkness overtook her.

* * *

The more the way continued onward, the less Aang found himself able to think. The gloomy, underground passageway clashed with the open spaces his life had been made out of until recently.

Seeing that no one seemed to be wanting to talk – even Sokka, who was surprisingly nice underneath his apparent sarcastic ways, had fallen silent – the young monk found himself along with his thoughts. Thoughts of destiny and failed tasks, and the overwhelming impression that he'd let the entire world down, including the Fire Nation.

He found it hard to reconcile the powerful, unforgiving empire he was hearing about and seeing now, to the picture he had of it from his youth. The Fire Nation had been a place of passion, hot tempers and will. He'd always found the people there driven, only more to personal pursuits rather than destructive warfare.

That was when he'd met his friend Kuzon, a boy roughly his age. Wilful and yet a stickler to rules, he'd been very different from the eccentric Bumi, and when he'd managed to have them meet each other, they'd argued for hours on end. Good times…

_I wonder what happened to you, Kuzon? Were you forced to fight? You were such a peaceful guy… _he caught himself as a new wave of guilt assailed him, and he tried hard to keep a calm face. _I've really messed up! I've messed it all up! I fled, and Gyatso, Bumi, Kuzon… everyone paid for it!_

Part of him once again tried to remind him that, had he been with his people, he likely would have died alongside them. His life would've ended long before he could truly consider himself the Avatar. It'd have been a meaningless death.

But Aang couldn't totally buy it. It was too comforting, too easy. Although he wanted to believe his rash action had been the right one in the end, he knew that Gyatso had probably spent his last days or weeks of life searching for him, worried sick, never finding closure.

_No! I can't think like that! I can't think like that! _He told himself, but he couldn't help it. Because his mentor had been the kindest man he'd ever known, the wisest by far, he could tell that was probably what happened. He felt tears mounting, and he pushed them down. No making a scene. Not now.

_That man who appeared in my dream… he called himself Avatar Roku. No, not just called himself, he WAS Roku. I could tell. It was like meeting myself in a way. _he reflected, _He told me I was needed for something, that there was still hope. But I'm not sure what to do! What can I do to fix things, Roku?!_

Roku…yeah, Roku. That was it. That was it! Aang felt a surge of hope in his being. He didn't quite understand everything that had happened, but Roku seemed to understand a lot of it. If he could find Roku… meet with him again…

"I gotta meet him again!" He said with determination. Such was his determination that he all but shouted it, and everyone around him jumped. He scratched his head in immediate embarrassment, feeling his face redden. _Great, just great. Waaay to go!_

"Aang?" Katara asked him, looking at him like he'd sprung a new head. Zuko and Sokka were also looking at him with surprise, while he heard Appa's rumble from farther behind. Like it or not, he now had everyone's attention. Even the guide was wondering about things.

"Meet who?" Zuko asked tentatively. Such was Aang's state that he simply burst with the response, without considering how it was going to sound.

"I need to meet Avatar Roku! The Avatar before me!" he told them, and only then did he realize, from the looks they shared, how it must have sounded. "That's… I mean…"

"Sorry to remind you of it, Air Boy," Toph replied with a smirk, "But Roku's been dead as long as you've been alive. That's sorta the point of the Avatar Cycle, no?"

Aang felt a surge of temper at the tone the Earthbending woman used. He knew that she was coming back from something horrible, but she was lashing out at everyone with that tongue of hers. _I've lost all my people, and you don't see me getting nasty with people! _

He clapped his hands together in frustration, and it rang like a thunderclap, making Toph jump even more than the others. He gritted his teeth: he'd Airbended when the anger got control. Quickly, using Gyatso's teachings, he worked to calm himself.

"I know… I said it wrong. I mean… I need to meet Roku's spirit. I need to know what I can really do for the world. I need his… his wisdom?" He said, and wondered if that made more sense. At least, he noticed with some relief, nobody laughed.

Sokka and Katara looked at each other, reflexively, the tension between them momentarily superseded by honest confusion. They clearly didn't know what to say about Aang's idea at all. Toph for her part, stayed silent, her blind eyes unseeingly locked around the young monk's spot. Zuko only looked at him grimly.

"I…I know this sounds crazy… but the monks always told me that my previous lives could help me if I needed them." He said. "And… from what I've seen, the barriers between people and spirits is weaker, so…"

"The Great Fire Temple." Zuko mused aloud, "Meeting a spirit like that, you'd need a place connected to the Spirit World. That's the place."

"I get the point about the temples being a good idea," Toph interjected rather roughly, "But the Great Fire Temple? Why that place?"

"Oh, I know! I get it! Monk Gyatso told me Roku stayed at that place a lot. It was a second home to him!" Aang said. Yes, hope was starting to burn in his heart. He could barely contain it.

"Terrific!" Sokka exclaimed, "So what you're talking about is to find a way to the heart of the Empire, enter one of the most sacred buildings they got, and hope a ghost'll show up?"

"Well… yeah!" Aang answered, not knowing what else to say.

"Sounds like a plan." Toph muttered, smirking again.

"Its worth a try." Katara added. Zuko merely gave a nod. Sokka looked at each of them and finally sighed.

"Just my luck. Stuck with people even crazier than I am!" He growled, then gave a short laugh.

_It'll work. _And told himself, _I'll meet him and… and then I'll be able to do… SOMETHING._

_I'm sure of it._

_Yeah. Yeah. Sure of it!_


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Azula, second of Fire Emperor Ozai's children and Heir to the Throne, lounged on the plush chair, looking perfectly at ease. She was idly looking at an apple which her left hand manipulated, even as she cupped her chin with the right. She seemed to find mild amusement at her actions, even as those who stood nearby held their breath, not the least being the General who'd delivered her the news.

"General Yung." She said sweetly, not looking from her apple, her face pleasantly idle, showing the beautiful face of a woman in her twenties. Something in her voice, however, made the guards and the General stiffen. "General, I fear I've misheard. Would you care to repeat?"

General Yung had been a successful officer for many years, serving under many skilled men and women, the most potent of which being the still-admired Dragon of the West. He had seen battle, and had fought his share. Yet he had to swallow and cough to clear his voice.

"Yes, Your Highness. We…" he hesitated, perhaps doubting the sanity of what he was doing, yet remained committed. "We cannot… cannot ascertain the location of the enemy. Nor can we know of their plans."

"_Cannot_…_cannot…_" she mused the word with a slight frown, as if it had a repulsive smell. "General Yung, you've been campaigning besides me for over four years. Surely you know how I… dislike… that word?" And as she did so, she smiled.

Azula was, by all accounts, a beautiful woman, having largely gotten the looks that Lady Ursa, her mother, had once shown to an admiring court. But whereas Usha's face had been softened by compassion, Azula's had the hardness of a ruthless warrior. As such, her smile, beautiful as it may be, made others quail.

"Y-yes, Your Highness." The General said glumly, accepting. Azula nodded, still smiling.

"Then you'll make certain you find the Resistance base before you come before me again?" She all but purred.

"Y-yes, Your Highness! On my life!"

"Good." She mused, finally losing interest in her apple, her eyes locking on the unfortunate man. "I expect no less, General." Her eyes narrowed, and her voice became colder than any wind which had ever blown from the highest peaks of the Northern Water Tribe' icy continent. "Now, hurry out of my sight, before I lose my compassion."

Azula watched the man go, saw her guards standing stiffly, and felt a moment of contentement. Even here, in the field, amidst the thousands of tents where her soldiers lived and prepared to obey her will, she was in complete control. She allowed herself a satisfied smirk at that.

"Your dad's not gonna be very happy with all this." Came a voice. The voice of one who had known Azula since she'd been little. It came unimpressed, unafraid. In fact, it held very little emotion at all. She looked at the woman who sat in Azula's own tent, idly sharpening her fearsome throwing knives.

_Only you'd have the guts to tell me stuff like that to my face._ She thoughts, but didn't rise to the bait. Arguing with Mai amounted to arguing with a rock. _Ice, like Ty Lee was fire. When we were the three of us together, nothing could stop us… _she stopped the thought. It was pointless. The acrobat was an enemy now. Just another type of pawn in her ever-continuing amusement.

"Daddy won't care as long as we can bring them a few heads. Now, you've told me there's an Airbender on the loose, and that he's supposedly the Avatar…" she began as she looked her men walking about in their daily lives.

"His eyes glowed, the statues glowed." Mai muttered neutrally, "We know they got glowing things at the Fire Temples, and then there's the Earth Temples. It's a bore, I know, but the prophecy's rather clear." The slender, dark-garbed woman then shrugged, as if this didn't bother her at all. It was one reason Azula hadn't punished her for losing the Blind Bandit: nothing really bothered Mai. Rather, everything bored her.

"Alright, then, I'll take your word for it." She smiled. "The Avatar… a boy? Strange. But boy, old man, bald, hairy, he's too late. We've won. All that remains is a few islands of defeated Earth Kingdom troops, and that annoying Resistance. That's all." She mused, dimissively.

"I'll crush them all: Zuko, The Blind Bandit, Yue…" she grinned a bit, "…Sokka…" she shook her head. Idle thoughts. "Even that brat calling himself the Avatar. The world'll be unified under the Empire, in the hands of the strongest of the elements!" _And I will reign over it all!_

**Spirited... you reach for power… but understand it so little…**

Azula glared at Mai. "Now that's dangerous talk, even for you, my friend." She drawled swiftly. "I don't need you lecturing me about power, lets be clear on that." At that, her friend raised an eyebrow, and actually looked up from her work.

"Are you crazy, Azula?" Mai mused, then posed. "Wait. No. You've always been crazy… are you crazier than usual? I didn't tell you anything. You're a bother to talk to when you're like that, anyway."

"Don't play this game with me, Mai!" she growled, and began to rise. As she did, however, she felt something which struck her to the soul, as it seemed that a hand made of ice gripped her by the shoulder. Suddenly, she couldn't move. Her throat went dry, and pain suffused her body.

**Power… you know so little… Child of Fire… even though you hold blood from one of my old Enemies… you will see…**

And then it was gone. The voice, the presence, the pain, everything. All gone as if a dream no one wished to remember. All that remained was Mai, sitting there, looking as worried as she was able to, reaching towards her.

"Azula? You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." There was no humour in Mai's voice. They'd heard the whispers, after all. Seen the fear in the eyes of those reporting the sightings.

Azula looked around herself. Nothing. The day continued on the plains, and the broken walls of Ba Sing Se lay just a short distance from the great armed camp. Reality was there before her. She could almost have believed she'd slept, and it had been a bad dream. "I've…" she began, but stopped. _It wasn't a dream. I felt that hand. I heard that voice. As if someone was there. Standing there. Someone…something… horrible…_

She shook her head. "Forget it. I have my plans, and I'm carrying them out." _And that goes for you, spirit, you hear? A stunt like that's not going to have me begging. My future lies ahead, my future where the world will be at my feet._

She heard no answer. She felt nothing. And yet, she couldn't forget the sensation. Something had been there. And she was going to make certain she was ready for it, as she was ready for everything else, from now on.

* * *

Katara looked around the base's site as they neared it. It was well hidden, the paths and signs hidden within the forested area so well that she knew Earthbending had been involved. She also saw a system of pulleys bringing water into an artificial, wooden tube, at which end people were drawing what they needed.

She had to admit, her first impression of the place was good. It was intelligently placed. But what truly got to her was the fact that she saw something of Sokka in the place. It reminded her of the defences and devices he's cobbled together back home.

"Not bad, Sokka." She said, with difficulty. Her brother, only slightly ahead, blinked at her before giving a nod, a slight smile on his lips. It took all she had not to look away: he looked so much like she remembered her father to be, now. Young, a bit different, but so much of him the same.

"You haven't seen the best parts. And if you think that's good, wait until you've seen Bumi's place!" he replied, while Zuko walked beside Aang and pointed here and there. The boy seemed to be looking at everything with wide-eyed curiosity.

"Too bad you didn't feel like sharing your gifts with the village, huh? The children…" she stopped herself as she felt the venom of her words. What was she doing, anyway? The first wave of anger having long passed, she saw that flinging accusations would be meaningless.

He flinched at that, his eyes clouding, anger marring the surface. But the anger was immediately replaced by sorrow, and vanished behind the determination and worry he seemed to wear like a second skin. He opened his mouth, but someone forestalled him.

"Katara, is that you?!" Came a joyous boom. She looked to see several people coming to see them. Unlike the others, who seemed uncertain of what to do about the new visitors, these four men – no, three men, the other was a woman – came with a strong, confident step. It was the man in front, the oldest of the four, who had talked.

She recognized him at once. How couldn't she? A man who'd lost his family on a fishing trip, the man who had been like family, an uncle to Sokka and herself. She'd heard that voice ever since she could crawl, and tears came, unbidden, to her eyes.

"B-Bato!" She said, choking. In three strong, hopping steps, he had closed the gap between them, and was hugging her fiercely, laughing in what appeared to be a sort of relief. She found herself hugging him back just as tightly.

"Katara! So it really IS you!" he said happily. "I thought I was going a bit crazy, but you're not a spirit! Hahaha!" From the corner of her blurry eyes, she saw Aang smiling up at the man. It seemed that the boy liked Bato immediately. It wasn't surprising, either: Bato had that effect on anyone he met.

"It's so good to see you!" Was all she found herself able to say. Unlike for Sokka or, for that matter, her father, she felt no real resentment towards the man. She'd just missed him a lot over the years, and held no malice towards him. The only thing she felt was regret. Of course, she couldn't speak for the rest of her clan.

Bato grinned and looked at Sokka. She saw a gleam of pride in the man's eye when he looked at the younger man, and wasn't surprised. Bato had always been a sort of uncle to Sokka, taking him fishing when Hakoda couldn't. But she also saw sadness, and that was new.

"Hey, Sokka! Good to see you! Len and the others were getting worried!" He said, and then mused, quieter. "They need you to look over some things."

"Yeah. Okay." Sokka said, but suddenly he seemed older. Much older. On the way to the base, when she'd managed to look at him without glaring, Katara had seen her brother unchanged. He was lively, if more mature, and snapped witty comments at Zuko, Toph, and even Aang. Despite her anger, her resentment, she'd felt a surge of relief and happiness at seeing that.

None of that was present now. Although Sokka smiled, there was a deep weariness there. It was like a weight had come back on his shoulders, and he didn't like it one bit. Yet, at the same time, he tried to maintain a confidence. It was a show. _He looks like father did. _She realized. _Dad told us he'd have cracked many times without mom there. Sokka… _

Her resentment remained, although she found it harder to maintain after the praise and respect Sokka had been getting from members of the Resistance. Even Toph, who seemed to have a natural acidic manner, somewhat restrained her comments, reserving herself exclusively, it seemed, for Zuko.

She still resented him, and yet she felt a sort of pity when she saw him talking with Bato, then. He was going back somewhere he really didn't like, and his eyes… were wounded. There were no other words for it in Katara's mind.

"I'll be right there. Just going to make a little detour before that." Sokka said. He looked towards a place in the corner of the base. Katara saw that, unlike most of the other place, there was an armed man standing in front of was seemed to be a blocked door. She frowned.

And then everything changed when one of Bato's men – someone Katara didn't recognize, probably from another village – exclaimed. "Spirits! Are you an Airbender, kid?!" While pointing at a surprised Aang, who stood there and scratched his head with a tentative chuckle.

"Well, uh, umm, y-yeah…" The young monk said, a bit nervously. It had been the same at the base, and he dreaded being swarmed by questions like he'd been then. Katara had soon noticed that Aang was at best uncomfortable in the spotlight.

Sokka sighed, smiled wanly. "I guess there's no point in hiding it. Want me to tell them?" he asked the monk, who nodded vigorously, before subtly going near Zuko. Katara was a bit irritated by that, but she understood why: the man was grim-faced and imposing. One did NOT swarm around Zuko, she'd seen.

And then Sokka shrugged, sighed again, his eyes revealing sadness. Only, this time, that emotion was directed at Aang. _I'm sorry, kid_. His eyes seemed to say. And then he said what Katara knew would soon spread like wildfire throughout the camp.

"Aang's an Airbender, but… most importantly, he's the Avatar! He's back to help us! And we're gonna do our best to help HIM, too!"

* * *

Sokka didn't actually really know what to do. And that was something he certainly wasn't used to. Returning with Zuko, Toph and the others had been easy enough, even though they'd had to take many hidden trails to make certain they weren't followed.

The camp itself had been as happy to see them as could be expected. The former prince had reunited with his former apprentice, while Toph accepted a rough welcome from her fellow Earthbenders.

His sister, with whom things remained tense, had been found by Bato, and his men had dragged her off to celebrate and get some much-needed news from her. To his intense irritation, she hadn't given Bato any flak. _Looks like I'm the only guy she makes responsible! What gives?!_

But even all of his irritation at Katara's behaviour paled next to the problem he was being faced. With their group, had come the Airbender named Aang. The only Airbender known to exist. And, if he could trust Zuko and Toph – and Sokka did so implicitely – that young boy was actually the Avatar, returned after eleven decades.

He had liked the boy at once, felt a kind of kinship with him. For some strange reason, he was drawn to protect him. A strange sensation, that. _Like a dream, a pull of something that should have been. Fate denied, or altered. _He'd shaken himself out of that strange feeling, but it still bothered him from time to time.

Maybe it was that feeling which he felt with the boy – who had worked hard to downplay his worth as 'just an Airbender' – which had convinced him so quickly. Maybe it had been that feeling which had made Sokka decide to send Zuko, Toph, and now his sister on a wild chase to the heart of the Empire.

_Or maybe its just that I'm tired, so damn tired, of everything. He says there's hope. That boy says so. And his eyes shine. I think I had eyes like that once, but I lost them. I don't see that hope. I just see fighting. Maybe that's why. Yeah. Maybe that's why…_

"What's wrong with me?" he asked as he leaned on the hard, grey wall. The cell slightly stank, but that was to be expected. Any person kept into a cell too long would start to stink, he knew that quite well.

Ty Lee had seen better days. She looked tired, which wasn't really surprising, given the circumstances. Her eyes were a bit dull, her hair unclean her face white from lack of sun, and her clothing had seen better days. The woman certainly didn't look like a great acrobat and martial artist.

And yet her hands were still bound whenever he visited, or anyone else for that matter. Looks or not, her power remained. And her wits, unlike her body, had never eroded one bit.

"Want me to make a list?" She smiled wickedly. "Let's start by you coming to a prisoner for advice and work our way from that." He glared at her for that, and she simply grinned right through.

"You're not helping." He said, trying to keep a whine out of his voice. He hated whining, but he was rather subject to it. _I should leave. _He thought. And then, another voice. _Nah, not yet. You're fine._

He knew that he was breaking many of his own rules by visiting the prisoner so secretly, using his charisma to get the guards off the cell for a few minutes, rearranging his schedule to meet with her. Even now, he couldn't believe what he was doing. He knew he shouldn't be doing it at all. To his surprise, this realization didn't deter him. In fact, it prompted him to sit down right beside the prisoner.

_Zuko'd kill me if he saw that._ He thought, but idly. Right that moment, he couldn't care less what Zuko could think. All he could think about, right now, was of the Avatar, or his sister's return. The return of hope, certainly, and the return of too many regrets. But, most of all…

"I'm tired." He grunted, "I'm tired of older men like Bato or Len turning to me for blasted answers. Tired of having great fighters like Toph and Zuko following my lead all the time!" he gritted his teeth. "I'm tired of all this! What I really want…!" He stopped, his scowl becoming rueful, grimly amused by the entire thing.

The chained woman shifted, and he gave her a quick look. To his relief, she wasn't moving in an aggressive way, but rather seemed to regard him with solemn quiet. Coming from the usually vibrant Ty Lee, it was…unsettling.

_Unsettling?! Its giving me the blasted creeps, that's what it is! _A younger voice, belonging to the young man who'd gone to search for his father. A voice he'd heeded less and less over the years. _Stop going about feeling sorry for yourself! Now stand up and walk off!_

He didn't walk off. But he did stand up. He looked at Ty Lee for a moment, opened his mouth, then closed it again. With a sigh, he started for the door.

"Sokka, wait." Ty Lee's voice sounded from behind, this time quiet, almost gentle. "You've taken pains to see me. Look, I know I just said things, but I won't mind giving you advice, if you need it."

"That's not what I want. Nah, that's not it." He shook his head again. _Way to go, champ, way to go!_

"Then _what _did you want?" She asked. This time, he felt a pleading note in her voice. Something pleading… and fearful. _So this isn't really a question, is it? You know what I want. You could give it to me, but… there's… still someone…_

_I can't ask for what I want. Guess that's that. _

_Damn it._

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come." He said, simply, and left the cell. He had a war to wage, people to see, plans to prepare, hope to give.

He just hoped he'd find some for his own soul, and for the very real terror a part of it was feeling.

* * *

Aang was feeling increasingly confused about everything that had been happening. As far as he was concerned, his destiny wasn't something he had any right to be comfortable with. After all, hadn't he learned of it only a few weeks ago in his mind?

He was willing to accept that he was important. It didn't please him, but he was willing to do it. When he'd been told by Avatar Roku's spirit that there was no way for him to return the Balance by himself, he'd felt disappointed. Disappointed... and relieved. But this had been replaced by confusion.

His dreams were becoming clearer, so clear that he slept only reluctantly. There was something wrong, deeply wrong, with the world. He'd felt Spiritual emanations, had seen ghosts walk the Mortal World. Enough lore had been drilled into the boy by the Elder Monks that he knew things weren't supposed to be this way. But he didn't know what to do about it.

_That's why I need to talk to Roku, or any Spirit who can tell me what's going on. I know I gotta help, but nothing, nobody, is telling me how! _A thought then interrupted his inner rant. _Maybe I should watch out for the...!_

That thought came too late, and a burst of water flung him away in the air. Fear and years of Airbending training took over, and he managed to Bend the air aroundn himself, slowing his own fall. He landed on the ground and then fell on his behind, wet, dazed, and rather miffed with himself. He saw Katara run towards him, her face worried.

_She always worries. _That was something he'd picked up from Katara's way easily. She always worried, even when she was sad, even when she was angry. Worried about him, about her people, even – thought she'd never admit it at the moment, he was certain – about her brother.

Katara had asked to go see her father's grave alone, a wish everyone had respected. When she came back from the short, pilgrimage-like visit, her eyes had been red, and she'd been shaking. She had refused to talk about it, and everyone had stopped questionning. But it seemed to the young Monk that it had helped...up to a point.

But whatever peace Katara had reached with her dead father, Aang didn't see it with Sokka. Things were left unsaid, and the two actually did their very best to avoid each other. That was the thing which irritated Aang immensely, although he kept quiet about it. _You two still got each other. Can't you see that? _He wanted to say, but never did. It wouldn't help, he knew, and he suspected that the two knew that well enough.

"Aang! Are you okay?!" she asked as she ran over.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." He sighed. "Just hurt my pride. Well, that and my rear." He had to grin at that one. "I'm fine, really!"

She seemed to only half-believe him, so he used his the nearby lake – where many of Sokka's Waterbenders trained at various times – to bend some water and splash it into Katara's face. Surprised, she sputtered and coughed, and he gave a short laugh.

"Got ya! Payback!" he stated, and Airbended to dodge a sudden water whip. It had been done on the spur of the moment. Aang's strength in Waterbending was growing quickly, but Katara's... that was something else.

"Why, you…!" she growled, then chuckled. But only for a moment. Then the worry and the hidden pain returned. 'Something on your mind?' she said after a moment of awkward silence. His irritation returning, the young monk considered not responding, then thought better of it.

There were no people his age in the group. Everyone was at least eighteen, most were more than that. Sokka said that it was to ensure that those who came to fight knew the cause they would be fighting for. That they understood it and believed in it. Deep down, Aang believed the reason, agreed with it.

But it didn't stop the fact that he felt lonely. He'd been feeling so ever since he'd been told he was the Avatar. Destiny, it seemed to him, wasn't all that it seemed. It didn't bring anything great. It brought only sadness and grief. _I miss Gyatso. Kuzon… one of the enemy now. I wonder how he was. And Bumi? Good, annoying Bumi, with his 'open yourself to the possibilities…'_

His saddened thoughts then burst with a fact he'd ignored in the weight of the last several days. Something Sokka and Zuko had mentioned.

"Bumi, King of Omashu!" he exclaimed, and Katara jumped, "Its got to be him! That name's rare, and Sokka said… he said he was there when the war started! It's my Bumi, its gotta be!"

"What are you talking about?' The young woman asked.

"Its… Katara, I gotta go see him! He's got to know something about what's going on!"

"What? Wait, wait! Aang, we can't go. Not right now! Sokka, Zuko, they're all going to fight the Empire. We need to see it, we need to help!"

Aang frowned. What was so important about seeing Sokka, Zuko and Toph fighting a battle. He was the Avatar. Fighting wars wasn't what he'd been taught to do. He glared up at the Waterbender, who looked far too adamant for his own taste.

"They don't need my help for something like that!" he retorted, "I'm a monk! We only use Airbending to help people, not to kill them!"

"It sure didn't help the Nomads much!" Katara grunted. Then her eyes widened. "Aang…!" But she didn't get any further. Fresh images of his home's crushed remains flared through Aang mind, and he felt the state beginning to overtake him. He felt it coming, fought it off, and turned his back on Katara. The anger was still present. And wasn't about to do anything. No. Gyatso would never approve.

Anyone but Katara, he'd have been furious with. _But, Katara, she's… different. I don't know why. Something… _He coughed, cleared his throat, kept the rage Airbenders found silly at best and bestial at worst under wraps. He had to say something now, before she could apologize.

I know you're sorry. But you said it. I should be angrier, but… "I'm going to see Roku. Then Bumi. I'm going to get their advice." He told her, more firmly than he felt. I'm running away from the war, another voice uttered, but he ignored that. "There's something strange, something so weird, in the world. He can tell me about it. How to fix it. THAT's my destiny. I'm NOT killing." He walked away. She didn't follow. I'm running away. Again. "No, I'm not. She was stupid, and I'm doing the right thing!" He told himself. To his chagrin, he wasn't quite able to make himself believe it.

* * *

The Northern Water Tribe's people had always been survivors. They were the original of the Water Tribes, the greater remnant of their people, of which the Southern Water Tribe had been an offshoot. For thousands of years, they had survived and thrived in the north pole, the most lifeless place in the world.

But even these millennia of surviving hadn't saved Yue's people from the Fire Nation's wrath. Although the Ruling Chiefs of the North had done their best to keep the opposed element out of their lives, their defences had finally fallen several months before Sozin's Comet had struck again.

Many fine people gave their lives to buy time for a full evacuation. Amongst them had been her father, Chief Arnook, who had named Yue as his successor at the battle's onset. There had also been Master Pakku, the greatest of their Waterbenders, and far too many other defenders.

Thus Yue had – unsuccessfully, had she not been helped by a surprising ally – been forced into the role of Chief of the North, leading her people inland, where the Fire Nation, soon to be called the Empire, had never bothered to come. Coastal villages, except for a few select places, had been wholly abandoned.

But misfortune hadn't struck the Northern Water Tribe completely. Tui and La were saved, again thanks to a much surprising ally, and been brought to an icy pond in a large depressiong between great mountains and hills. The new enchanted pond had been the centre of Yue's people, of their rebirth.

As she stepped out of the Chief's Hall, she took in the city her people had built in their exile. Tall walls of ice, as tall as any in their old capital, and the hills and mountains, provided great protection. Within, Waterbenders and other builders had worked, almost defiantly, to build not only a refuge, but a large, thriving city.

The adaptive, surviving Tribe had done it, as well. Now houses, streets, canals, markets and temples inhabited the depression. Food sources had been found, and new trade lines with the inland villages forged and reinforced. The Nothern Water Tribe had been wounded, but still stood as proudly as ever. And Yue vowed it would remain so as long as she could draw breath.

She had endeavoured to learn Waterbending, something she had barely dabbled with in her youth, yet something her unique nature afforded great control of. In time, her powers grew, so that she now surpassed even the deceased Pakku. Chief of the North, she was also the High Priestess of the Water Temple, which housed, at its core, the Elder Spirits of the Moon and the Ocean.

As such, worrying had become a normal trait of hers, and it had only grown worse during the present year. Something was amiss, she couldn't deny it. Something in herself, in her link with the Spirits, told her things were becoming more dangerous for the world than it ever could be with the Empire. On this, Tui and La had remained silent.

"My Lady! Lady Yue! Your Highness!" She asked, and Yue, dressed in furs and robes of both the Chief and the High Priestess, shook herself from her worried review of the defiant city, and gave her attention to a wide-eyed soldier, who seemed utterly out of sorts. She recognized him as one of the soldiers guarding the Temple, and her worry only increased.

"My lady !" The guard stated, breathless, "At the Temple…!" He seemed to be searching for words. His eyes were wide. Yue's pulse quickened a bit, but she kept her calm outlook.

"Calm down," she intoned, soothingly. She'd had a lot of practice in the past several years – one of the reasons she now truly admired her father, and felt pity for her distraught mother. "What happens at the Temple? Is it the spirits?"

She doubted that, as she would have known, she was certain, had something happened. But the guard shook his head quickly, calming down, if only a little. He gestured towards the temple, as if to bring the words to life by doing so.

"No, not the Revered Ones," he said quickly, "Something… something else. Entered. We were rooted, couldn't stop him. A huge…like a huge bird or something. We…My Lady, you must come!"

Yue didn't need any further urging. The man was confused, but his eyes spoke the truth. Something was within the temple, with the Spirits. She made her way quickly. As much as she could, at any rate. As leader, she couldn't allow herself to look or sound hurried about anything. Ever. It wasn't done. It had been one of the things her father had taught her.

Yet she breathed a sigh of relief when she came to the Temple, where several guards and Waterbenders had gathered, looking inside the temple warily, uncertainly. Some of the elder Waterbenders, however, seemed to be content on keeping the people at bay. It was Lenna, the eldest of the healers and, with Master Pakku dead, their highest-ranking Waterbender, who came to Yue, her face solemn, but calm.

"Go in." She said simply and Yue, after a nod, knowing that asking explanations would be a sign of weakness she couldn't show, made her way inside, and into the chamber containing the new pond. She entered, and stopped herself short when she saw, next to the calmly speaking birds, the shape of what looked like a huge owl, looking at her.

"Ah, so here she is." The owl uttered in a far more benevolent voice than his appearance suggested he would use. 'At last, we may begin.' He nodded to the pond, as if everything was part of his plan. Yue stiffened slightly when she remembered something from her lore. Something Master Pakku had told her, many years ago, about the spirits. That one of them had the shape of an owl, a powerful Elder Spirit, known as the Spirit of Knowledge…

"Wan Shi Tong." She breathed. The owl looked at her sharply, then nodded again. In some way, the spirit seemed pleased.

"Yes. Come to confer with my siblings here. I see they have kept things together nicely for now. Good, good. At least this place shall stand a little while. Long enough, hopefully."

Yue blinked she'd expected a lot of things, except this. Yet she felt the urgency from Tui and La's forms, and instinctively knew that the Spirit of Knowledge brought grim tidings.

"Why…are you here, Elder Spirit?" she asked simply.

"To do what I can." The Spirit mused gravely, "The current state of things is forcing me to act. The Avatar has returned, lady Yue. My old friends have told you as much, I am certain." A deep sigh. "But late. Late. Maybe not too late, but late. It is weakening, and we must slow it until he understands."

She shivered. There was something… frightening… in those words. It sounded like… discouragement, despair? "What? What happens?"

"The Avatar was selfish, and the world suffers. The Spiritual World and the Mortal World are merging." Wan Shi Tong mused, "And if we find no solution quickly, it may be millennia of chaos for both realms, if not more so. Yes, quite. Quite, quite. Now, come, child. Sit with us, and hear what I have to say."


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Sixteen**

"How many times I gotta say this?! I don't need your help, and I don't want it!"

"Don't be an idiot! You don't believe that, and I certainly don't!"

The conversation wasn't new. In fact, Zuko felt that he was rehearsing something for some drama show he'd watched at festivals as a child. It didn't help his mood any that he didn't feel any closer to a solution.

Although he never would have believed it upon meeting the stubborn Earthbender years before, the man whom the Fire Nation had come to call the Blue Spirit had fallen for another vigilante called the Blind Bandit, who happened to be the sole daughter of immensely wealthy and influential Bei Fong Family, not to mention one of the most irritating women he had ever met.

Their first meeting had been a verbal spar, and their relationship had never lost that edge. However, over the years – prodded, at times, by his Uncle's advice – he'd come to respect the Blind Bandit, something he felt she returned in her own way.

He'd never expected to fall in love with the sarcastic woman, or that he would ever cherish someone like he did her now. Yet he did, and that made the entire situation impossible to bear anymore.

So he'd waited. Waited until they were alone, in the small place she herself had carved from the rock with her powers, where they'd become… more than friends. It was then that he'd refused to leave her, and told her they were going to talk about things.

So far, he had to admit it wasn't going all that well.

"Now, listen here, Flame Brain!" she snapped, her blind eyes glaring ahead, her hands clenched. It was Toph at her most stubborn, her body saying to anyone nearby a corporal 'back off or else'. Most, Zuko knew, would have been more than happy to oblige.

But Zuko had known her for years. He'd seen her happy, sad, sarcastic, self-reflecting. He'd seen it all. And this granted him a certain immunity to her tantrums. It also granted him sufficient insight to know when it was better to leave Toph alone, or not. This qualified as a 'not' to him.

"We've had bad times before. Its not the first time they succeeded in capturing you or me." he told her. _Although it was the first time they got their hands on her THIS long. _"Why are you being like this? What's scaring you?"

She stomped her left foot, and the area shivered, commanded by the most skilled Earthbender on the continent, as well as the second-most powerful. Zuko stood his ground. He'd seen worse.

"I'm not scared, Flame Brain. I don't know that word, and I really don't like it. Got that?" she grunted warningly.

"Is that so?" he growled right back. "Guess I misheard when you cried some nights. I guess that Waterbender, Katara, and the Avatar also misread the signs." He crossed his arms. "And you're really an idiot if you really think I'll buy into any of this. They hurt you. They humiliated you. And you're lashing out on everything. Its got to stop, Toph!"

"Annoying, royal pain in the… just lay off already!" She grunted, but her voice cracked just a little bit, giving him a small opening.

He took that opening for all it was worth. He'd been leaning on the wall, facing her, but then he stood up straight and pointed, knowing her second sight would tell her about the movement almost instantly. She jerked a bit at that, but her scowl stayed the same.

"You're lying. Lying to me. To _me._"

"I'm not…!"

"You're lying to me, and you're lying to yourself!" he growled, unwilling to let her get the high ground. If she did, she'd clam up, and that'd be the end of it. "I can see you've been hurt! You were helpless, and they hurt you. Fine! The Toph I know would just seek payback for that! She wouldn't mope around like a spoiled brat who got roughed up a little harder than he's used to!"

The last sentence stung, he could tell. Her hands clenched, and her scowl deepened. He was, he knew, very close to having the entire place thrown at him – literally. He knew that perfectly well and care just as little.

"You know, when Iroh died," he mused suddenly, unable to keep himself from feeling a small burst of grief at the words, "you were there. You helped me. You could've walked away. I WANTED people to walk away."

"But you and Sokka didn't let that happen. You especially. Now get this well and good, because I will not say this, this clearly, again in a long time to come." He finished. And then, swiftly, before she could react, and was beside her, whispering in her hear. She stiffened after the first few words, as he knew she would. But she didn't recoil. Instead, something cracked in her eyes. Not physically, but in her mind.

He straightened. He felt oddly liberated, even though he felt awkward. What he'd said wasn't entirely proper, certainly went against every bit of etiquette he'd been taught in his youth. But he'd never felt more relieved. And, he saw with carefully restrained glee, he'd actually managed to strike the Blind Bandit mute with shock.

"I'm going to practice now." He said, "I'm going to prepare myself to help Sokka, and then help Aang. Uncle said life happened wherever you were. I say it continues no matter what happens." He smirked, "So shape up, Blind Bandit! There's a little boy and a stubborn Fire Nation man who both need you!"

"Zuko…" she growled, and he looked at her. The hurt was there. The humiliation was there. But there was something else, too. The blind eyes didn't look hollow. They looked mean, sarcastic, nasty. _And I love those blind, irritating eyes. _

"Flame Brain… just who d'you think I am?" she stated. And Toph, the Blind Bandit, rose in more than one way, because of a few words Zuko would never say again until both were ready to hear them out loud between them.

* * *

Sokka couldn't help but feel sorrow, even after the years had gone. As he led his sister to his father's grave, he wondered if he ever would. That bothered him more than he let on. His father hadn't been one to let grief get in the way of life. Sokka knew his father would want him to move on. _If only it was that easy, dad. But nothing's easy these days._

"You certainly went deep into the forest." Katara mused even as she effortlessly Bent water from a stream. They'd been walking for nearly an hour.

He frowned. "When Iroh died, Zuko chose a spot where his uncle'd never be easily found by the Fire Nation. Seemed fitting to bury dad near Iroh. I mean, until I can go back to the south and build him a proper cairn." He mused as he walked. He didn't even look around. He knew the place like the back of his hand.

"You sure are taking your time on that." She snapped, and Sokka turned, frowning. He was used to taking flak from Katara by now. He deserved her anger, he knew that. But there were things which tried even his limits.

"Don't even begin, Katara! Not here! We're near Dad's grave, and that means you keep your anger for yourself, got it?! Dad died for all of us and he deserves _better_ than hearing you _rant_!" That was harsh, and he regretted the way she glared right back. _But I won't apologize. She doesn't know that it wasn't possible to come. That I wanted to._

He didn't want to continue the confrontation now that he'd started it, and he didn't like the hurt materializing in front of him. Of all the things he never wanted to do, hurting his sister was high on his list. _And I did that anyway. Nice work, Sokka!_

They came upon the small clearing easily enough, although he figured that anyone not knowing the way would've been stuck many times. Toph and Yue had taken great pains in using their art to hide the place. Many had protested Yue doing such a trivial task, but she'd refused to hear it.

It was a simple place, a simple green clearing. Flowers had been planted on its edge by well-meaning members of the Resistance. They'd grown wild and plentiful, and their dazzling colours – whites and golds, reds and blues – made for a wonderful view. It only made the ache greater, however, when one looked at what he knew to be in the center of the place.

Hakoda had had a small stone cairn built on top of his tomb, while Iroh had had a tombstone made in the way of the Fire Nation. It made for quite a clash of styles, a Water Tribe tomb next to a Fire Nation tomb. And yet neither Zuko nor Sokka would have it any other way. Hakoda and Iroh had been great friends by the end.

"We're here." he said, needlessly. Katara said nothing, only looked at the cairn with empty, shocked eyes. _I guess she needed to see it to believe it. To her… to all of us, I guess… Dad was immortal. Nothing could hurt him._

He cleared his throat as he approached the cairn. He'd talked to his father's grave over the years, always wishing Hakoda was there for advice and life-earned wisdom. He'd never wanted it as badly as he did now.

"Hey Dad. Been a while, uh?" he said. "Sorry about that. Got busy these days. But you know how that's like, so I'm not gonna bother you with details. Dad… Katara's here. You always wanted to see her, so…" he choked at that, and decided it wouldn't be good to continue.

Katara, for her part, never seemed to have heard him. Her eyes showing newfound grief, glistening with unshed tears, she simply walked and sat near the cairn, facing it. She touched it with a trembling hand, then withdrew it promptly, as if it had bitten her.

"I didn't want to…you know… that dad…" she muttered, her voice quavering. Sokka nodded, coming to put his arms around her. She stiffened, but grasped him firmly. Her body was trembling, and he knew he must have been in a similar state, years ago. He held on to her.

"H-how did…" she choked, and gestured towards the cairn. The young man sighed. That was something he wasn't entirely ready to tell his sister about. Her shock and her grief were too fresh. Of the two of them, Katara had always been the more emotional, the one who took things to heart the most. He wasn't about to burden her more. _Not yet._

Instead, he opted to keep it simple. "Dad died fighting. He died saving people. You'd have been proud." His voice shook a bit, a moment of control lost. "I was. I still am, you know. Proud of him."

She nodded, and they kept silent, the siblings finding comfort in each other for the first time in nearly a decade, supporting each other as they had in the past.

_A sound. Behind me. Someone._ His senses told him at once, and he found himself grabbing the boomerang on his back. Despite his skills in other weapons, it had always been there that he had excelled beyond any other. Katara, for her part, didn't seem to have noticed his sudden tension.

_Someone here. Uneven, unsure. Strange. Familiar. What is it? _He wondered as he was pelted with information. Senses sharpened through years of fighting and hiding didn't help him to completely understand. And then there was a sound right behind him.

Instincts took over. No member of the Resistance would have come up behind without vocal announcement. To Sokka, it meant one thing, and one thing only: an enemy! In one flow, he let go of Katara, stood up, grabbed his boomerang, hefted it to its proper position, briefly took the measure of the enemy, readied his arm…

…and stopped as he found himself facing, not an enemy, but a woman he felt extremely conflicted about. "Suki?" he asked as he saw the familiar face. One longer look at this face – so beloved by him for so long – chilled him. _Her face… it looks…_

At that moment, even Katara was brought to her feet when she heard the shriek Suki uttered. It was filled with something primal, something so terrorized that Sokka actually blanched.

Then Suki – or this fear-crazed woman who looked so much like her – bounded away. Sokka looked at Katara, who looked at the fleeing woman, then at him. They shared a look. Grief was put aside in that surreal moment.

"Go." She said.

And he went.

* * *

Suki couldn't see very well. She couldn't think very well. All she could think about was to flee. She'd heard two people who, in their own way, had been friends, vanish as if they'd never existed. That had wracked her nerves, and her fear had nearly supplanted her in that moment.

But she would have shaken it off. As rage had one day overcome her, fear had. As she had vanquished anger, she'd have vanquished terror. And then the voice had spoke, and something had seemed to take a hold. Not something physical, but something else entirely. Something which mocked and tormented her, driving her fear high and higher, until her self-control broke.

She'd run then. She'd run to do something. She still had a purpose, then. But the torment had continued. Shapes seemed to leer at her from every shadow, a feeling of being watched continuously present. Always. It deprived her of sleep, of sense, amused by her struggles.

Suki no longer knew why she ran to that place. A part of her, ever-smaller, told her it was important, that it was salvation, that something… _good_… was there. _Good, yes, good. Something, someone… I gotta get there._

**You'll find nothing there, heeheeheeh!**, the voice guffawed, **You're perfect. So strict, so honourable, but so frail in some ways. Perfect for me, yes yes! Heeheeheeh!**

She'd run, she no longer knew how long, through instinct and feeling of familiarity. There was safety there, she was sure of it. She was desperate for it. So she'd persevered, until she no longer knew why.

But when she arrived, when she found this place, the spirit had raged. The darkness had deepened, and she saw nothing but shadows. A shape had stood up, a baleful gaze upon her. And, yet, for a fleeting moment, she'd thought it had been the shape of a man, and that man… she'd felt… hope…

And then the darkness had taken over, the shape moved forward, and terror ruled her once again. She yearned to fight, but a part of her stopped her. There was something within her, telling her that it would be wrong, so _wrong_, to attack. It was a fleeting voice. _Was it me? My voice?_

**Attack him! Be done with him! Or fight! Or flee! It doesn't matter! Your mind is so weak! **The voice cackled. **Our Lord was right! The Second Coming nears at last!!**

She didn't know what that meant. She didn't care. Something was behind her. Fast, very fast. But not as fast as she was. She outrun it, and all the while she tried to fight it off, to stop the voice.

"What…are you?!" she growled, trying to keep the panting panic, the animalistic urge to flee, away. She succeeded, once again. She stopped, leaned against a tree. "No…more… running…" she gasped.

**Then give in. Let me in. I'm already nearly in control. Give in, and the fear will stop! I sense that, you fear, your terror… why… I feel something else…**

Suki gasped, lurched forward, looking at her feet. She hadn't wanted to move. But her legs had jerked on their own. _No more running. No more running!_

**Kyoshi Warriors? A fighting cult? I see! One of the measly Successors, you honour that one Avatar with your pathetic little order. But that's what I see… I see your memories of your sisters…**

Images came, unbidden. There was a village… people like her. _My sisters. My sisters! _They were dressed like her, she remembered. Kiyoshi Warriors. Fighting against so many soldiers. Too many. One fell, ten more came! And then more, and more! One of her sisters was tackled, another fell to a sword stroke.

The masses of red-garbed men parted, to reveal others, who began flinging fire at them! _Firebenders! We need to regroup! _That's what she's said, regroup. But that was impossible. Most were scattered. She glimpsed a few of her sisters being dragged, struggling, towards the ship. A burst of anger, she came forward. She wasn't about to allow it.

She slashed at an enemy soldier, and attempted to reach one of those being taken down. Already, three of them were almost to the ship. If she could reach them, she would… she realized she didn't have a plan. She also realized that she didn't care. All that mattered to her was doing SOMETHING.

But a hand stopped her. She jerked free. More hands. Many people. They were dragging her off! Away from the battle. _No, we can't leave them! We can't! Let me go, Sokka! _That name… so important to her. And then nothing.

**Heeheeheeh! You fled! You fled and left them to die, or even worse! Oh, what an honourable person you were! Truly remarkable! **The voice cackled.

Suki shivered at the memories. She heard behind her. Something… calling… but it was indistinct. Then she remembered. _That thing. Its coming! But… I… _Her body decided for her, she began to move forward, unsteadily. Fear, anger, guilt, were mixed in her mind. And the voice kept cackling like some discordant note throughout her being.

And then the sneering voice stopped, the laughter stopped. The presence was still there, but it was suddenly no longer directed towards her. With a great effort, the Kyoshi Warrior summoned what remained of her will and looked around her.

She saw a man dressed in tattered blue clothes and armour, coming up behind her with a worried expression, a woman with similar skin and eyes coming up some distance behind him. On the other side, she saw two other adults: one a man, tall and grim. The other a woman, not quite as tall, slim, in the garb of an Earthbender frowning at the ground.

She knew them all. Beneath the crushing weight in her mind, their names were there. She knew them all… but what was… occupying her tormentor… what could it be? It was like… sudden fear had gripped it.

It was then that she noticed the boy. A bald boy, with arrow-like tattoos on his body, gaping at her. And then, for some wild reason she couldn't fathom, what remained of Suki's self realized that this was what the entity feared so much.

* * *

Aang had been adamant. After having heard Zuko and Katara talking about the men named Iroh and Hakoda, he'd expressed the wish to see the graves. It was clear, from how the word went around the place, that they had been good, honourable men, who'd fought the Empire valiantly. Although not a fan of warfare at all, the young monk had wished to pay his respect in the Airbender fashion.

Leaving Appa to the care of the Resistance, he'd set off to find Zuko. The Air Bison, for its part, had been completely at ease with the idea, as the younger Resistance members had adopted the gentle beast at once, and brought it masses of wild fruits. Aang was more worried about his friend getting fat then getting harmed in any way.

Zuko had been hesitant, but had noticeably mellowed when Toph had decided she might 'just go see those old fools'. Although the words were mean, there was something in the woman's voice which told Aang that she didn't mean them at all. However her reasoning, she looked a bit better, something the boy was glad to see. Zuko, stern as he was, seemed to be pretty glad as well.

Now, as he looked at a dishelved, breathless, scared-looking woman, the reluctant, young Avatar wondered if he shouldn't have stayed with Appa and eaten some forest berries.

The woman, to his young eyes, clearly was pretty. Even her unsteady posture, her scared, unfocused eyes, told him that much. She was garbed in some sort of semi-ceremonial gard which had clearly seen better days. That very garb seemed to hit a cord within him. Zuko had tensed before she had appeared, while Toph had only frowned at the ground.

"Suki?" Zuko mused as soon as she appeared, blinking.

"Suki?" Aang asked, wondering if that was the woman's name, thinking it likely. As he was about to ask about that, he stole another look at the frightened girl, looked into thoe half-crazed eyes, he stiffened. _There's something else there. Something… a presence…_

"That girl… she's… guys, she's not herself. There's something with her!" He said aloud. He wasn't certain how they'd react to that, but Zuko's eyes only narrowed, while Toph nodded.

"That explains it. Breathing, poise, weight distribution. Its Suki, but not Suki." The blind woman grunted. "Something else? That's pretty deep!"

"We've seen stranger things." Zuko said, regarding the girl icily. At that moment, Sokka appeared, breathing heavily. Spotting Suki, he moved towards her, and then stopped as Toph rolled the earth with a twist of her foot, forcing him to scramble backwards.

Sokka glared at Toph at once. "Toph, what d'you think you're doing?!" He snarled, and Aang was surprised at the anger in his tone. The blind woman shrugged, seemingly not bothered by that.

"Easy Sokka. Suki's not herself." Zuko mused, "Or so the Avatar said. Me, I'd tend to believe him."

Sokka's glare shifted to Aang, who scratched his head, but didn't back down. Behind the Resistance leader, the boy spotted Katara arriving, looking slightly overwhelmed. He waved to her slightly, a sign she returned hesitantly.

**You! You! YOU! Thief! Filthy, unworthy, thieving Successor! Pawn of the Elder Spirits! **A voice thundered in Aang's mind. He clutched his head. He vaguely heard the others asking him what was wrong, but they were nothing to the sheer strength, the undiluted hate, flooding through his mind. **Unworthy vessel of our great Lord's power! How dare you show yourself here!**

"W-who… I…" Aang gritted his teeth, "I…know… you…?" He mused. _I know you. But that's not possible… isn't it?_

**Unworthy Successor! But it won't be enough! Our Lord will return, and the Elder Spirits won't be allowed to find like those four, short-sighted fools! **The voice raged, and Suki clutched her head. **Our Lord's time has come again!**

And it was then, while holding his head, uncomprehending, that Aang felt something. From deep within, and yet from elsewhere entirely, something, someone, took hold. But it wasn't as if he was being invaded. It was like a part of him was speaking.

A gust of wind slammed Suki backward into a tree, and before Aang could quite comprehend that he had done this, a flicker of his foot imprisoned her body in earth. At the same time, something within him lashed out, a force which struck at the voice. It let go, surprised, pained, screaming.

"_Your master's time was a blight upon the Mortal World._" Aang spoke, not controlling himself. "_His name will forever remain barred from our memories, he will ever remain the Nameless One._"

**Worthless Successor! Little, short-sighted excuse for a soul!**

"_You forget yourself._" He growled, and something lashed out again. Aang noted that he was striding towards the woman. No, rather towards the thing torturing her. "_You presume to teach me of worth? You? A lowly pawn who ran from the High Masters's wrath?! You're nothing but a little spirit bound by hatred! Now, begone!_"

And then something happened. For a moment, it seemed that dozens of voices, dozens of people, were inside of him. For a moment, there was something… unthinkable, remarkable, happening. Dozens of spirits gathered… and struck the crazed presence, which dispersed with a vengeful, pitiful wail.

"_And if the Nameless One wishes to return,_" the presence inside Aang mused loudly, "_Then he will find the world itself will find a way to stop him, if by chance the latest of us cannot._" And, with that, the presence left. Aang found himself looking at a dishelved woman. Although the eyes which looked at him were pained and tired, they no longer looked crazed.

He roused himself with an effort. His entire body seemed made of stone. He gave the woman a wan smile. The turned to the others, who were looking right at him, stunned for some reason. _Guess I gave them a show, right?_

He scratched his head, smiled sheepishly. "Looks like its okay, now!" he said, brightly.

And he promptly fainted.

* * *

Yue wouldn't hear of it, and there was little they could do, at any rate. Still, the elders of the Northern Water Tribe did their very best to steer her away from her decision.

"This is madness, Lady Yue!" One of them, an elderly woman, one of the few Healers to have survived from the original capital, told her. "You simply can't leave the capital when we're still rebuilding!"

"She's right, Your Ladyship!" another, a middle-aged man who was, of the nine Advisors, the only male not to know Waterbending. "You wish to aid the Resistance, but we've offered all we could offer!"

Yue wondered how her father would have undertaken things. Seated at the great stone table in her private meeting hall, she wondered that as she mentally worked off mild frustration.

Her father, Chief Arnook, had been a well-respected man, beloved by all, but also stern when he needed to be. He would have slammed a hand on the table for silence, then would have simply, calmly, told the Advisors that they would have to deal with his decision.

Of course, the Advisors of Arnook's days were different. Yue's mother, now unwilling to deal in politics after losing her husband, had been a calm but powerful voice. And then, of course, there was Master Pakku. The strongest Waterbender of his time, he would have bluntly told the Chief that it was stupid and that HE certainly wasn't going to let the leader of the Water Tribe go off like that.

But Pakku was dead, the stubborn, tradition-bound man having given his life to allow the major part of the civilian population to evacuate. Many other, venerable Waterbenders and Warriors, so many scholars and experts, had been lost on that day.

Yes, the capital was still in the midst of rebuilding. Yue had to give the advisors that much. Even a decade of work hadn't allowed them to recover, even with the Fire Army unable to do more than undertake minor raids because of the cold weather. Waterbenders were still far fewer than in Arnook's day, and the scars of battle were still fresh.

Sanely, she knew, her place was with her people.

The situation, however, had stopped being sane once Wan Shi Tong, the Elder Spirit of Knowledge itself, had come and made clear the complex, frightening situation the world was in. At that moment, Yue's path had been decided.

Yue rose. Although she didn't quite have her father's presence, her appearance, collected mien and – she was sure it played – her deep, supernatural bond with the Moon Spirit gave her quite a bit of weight. Being Chief AND High Priestess also helped.

"I have made my decision. I have told you what the Elder Spirit has said, did I not?" She mused.

They hesitated at that. She had them on that. But it wasn't enough to allow them to let her go without more of a fight. None had Pakku's sheer personality to bring into play, they were hard workers who hated philosophical decision-making.

"No one distrusts the words of the Spirits." Another of the Advisors defended.

"Who could?" The elder Healer mused giving them all a challenging stare, before returning her attention to Yue herself, "But these talks are obscure to say the least. An Enemy Wan Shi Tong cannot name? A seal broken after centuries, because of a lack of Avatar in the world?"

"Not cannot, my friend." Yue interjected, "The Elder Spirit was quite grave about this enemy. More dangerous than Ozai, much more. But unnamed because the Spirit would not speak that name to me."

"But to leave to talk to the Avatar?" The middle-aged man all but gasped. "We can't allow the last of Arnook's bloodline from being spilled in the remnants of the Earth Kingdom."

"You can, and you will." Yue mused, her tone coming to close the debate. There was a limit to what she would take. "I am Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, and I say I shall travel." She closed her eyes, refusing to look at them. "Our northern havens are still mostly intact. Prepare a ship from there. I will leave as soon as possible."

"Lady Yue…" one tried. She shook her head.

"Leave me, now." She commanded gently. And they did. Reluctant, muttering, angry even, but they did. And she stayed there, sitting, her eyes closed, until she felt something nearby. She opened her eyes, and saw a snow owl, immaculately white, looking at her unblinkingly. It wasn't an animal stare, either. Rather, it was the stare of someone far older, as old as the human race, or so it was said. Someone she had met but once.

"Well done." It croaked, its voice clear but bird-like, unlike the somewhat arrogant, very human voice the Elder Spirit's primary form had. "You handled that like only the best Chiefs ever have, and I have glimpsed them all in the depths of time, lore and song."

That didn't make her feel any better. Although she respected the Spirits immensely – owed one her very existence, in fact, she felt more than a little bothered. "And was it enough?" she asked, a bit more tersely than she intended. The Owl looked at her, unblinking, for a long moment.

"Yes. Until the Avatar understands his role." Wan Shi Tong stated, the animal managing to convey the arrogant tone. "On that, you shall help him."

"He already has a Waterbender, one of great skill. Or so you said." She mused.

"So Roku has told me. But I have looked at this Waterbender. Her destiny is great. It is linked with the Avatar. But not in this."

That acted upon her curiosity. She arched an eyebrow. "And upon what is she linked to this… destiny? What could it be, Elder?"

The Owl, at that, actually blinked. For some reason, that made Yue feel a bit queasy.

"Something else." The Owl mused, strangely solemn. "At length, yes… something else." And the owl vanished, leaving a pensive, white-haired Waterbender to ponder the strange events ahead.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Seventeen**

The Northern Water Tribe had never had much of a fleet. Even before Sozin had launched his attack upon the shores of the icy northern continent, it never reached fifty ships. It was that small fleet which had tried to stem the Royal Fire Fleet's power.

Having been attacked after the Comet, it had enjoyed some success before it fell to the Fire Nation's numbers and destructive power. That success was due mainly to one thing: one-on-one, the Water Tribe ships were faster, more manoeuvrable. And the people of the Water Tribe – Northern or Southern – were born sailors, their affinity with water apparent.

The ship that Yue had boarded on her trip to the Earth Kingdom's fallen lands was nearly as large as a Fire Nation cruiser, but was sleeker, and armed very moderately. In fact, its weaponry was also the reason it moved more swiftly then any Fire or Earth ships: its crew was mostly made of trained Waterbenders, and the captain of the ship was a master of the art.

The elders of the great families had been against her going. Why try to reach the Earth Kingdom, they had argued. Her place was in the new capital, overseeing reconstruction, keeping the hopes of the people up.

_And, _she told herself with resigned bitterness, _to find a husband. I've been able to keep them away so far, but it won't be… _She shook her head. Three old, powerful spirits had told her that the worlds of the spiritual and the mortal would soon merge and probably destroy each other.

Now was the time to aid the Avatar in regaining Balance, not to think about the matchmaking plots of old men! Wan Shi Tong had urged her to seek the Avatar, and that was what she intended to do.

"Imperial ships!" The lookout suddenly shouted, crashing the peaceful, cool mid-day air. "Off the starboard bow!" Grimly, Yue looked to the ship's right and, sure enough, she saw the forms of three, metallic ships, belching smoke and flying the golden fireburst of the Empire. _Well, we didn't expect to be so lucky._

A Waterbender came to her side, and the High Priestess of the Moon Temple knew what the man would say. "My Lady, I urge you to go inside the ship. We will handle the enemy."

"Ten years ago, my father might have said that, and I would have obeyed." She mused in answer, looking at the approaching ship thoughtfully. "But my father is now passed away, and another man once told me that one with power should use it when necessary."

"My Lady Yue…!" the man started to protest, but she shook her head slightly. After a moment of intense inner turmoil, the Waterbender nodded and bowed. "If this is your wish, then I cannot stop you. But please let us handle it as much as possible."

She smiled at that, nodding gently. Already many Waterbenders had come on deck. Some went to the back, to add their powers and make the ship go faster, while most readied themselves to defend the ship. It wasn't long before fiery balls were launched from the Imperial ships, launched with deadly precision.

Yue saw one such fireball streaking towards her, and channelled the power of water. It came with the ease she had always felt, especially since that morning, ten years ago. A thick wall of water rushed up from the sea as she raised her arms, stopping the missile cold in a meeting of opposites. _Male-female traditions just took another blow._

Elsewhere, similar defenses were up, and the ship's speed began to increase. The Fire ships, however, stubbornly continued to fire, speeding to try and cut them off. Fireball after fireball streaked towards the Water Tribe ship, and time and time again water went up.

And then, suddenly, in the middle of a fierce attack, the fire stopped. It was so sudden that it caught Yue off-guard. She stared at the ships in confusion, gazing open mouthed even as the three enemy craft began to slowly drift. It was like something had made the Firebenders cease any desire to continue attacking.

She wasn't the only one who felt lost, as the other Waterbenders kept looking over the ocean warily, looking at each other and giving the enemy dubious looks. One near Yue actually said what they all felt aloud.

"It doesn't make any sense." He said, and the woman found herself nodding in agreement, as did several others. "They shouldn't…" the man stopped abruptly, with a gasp. And then he fell on the floor, clutching his head. Yue stared at him and started going to him, as did others.

But then more did the same. And before the former Princess could do anything, she felt as if something exploded within her being, and she was sent to her knees with a cry. Within moments, most of the crew was on its back or knees, gasping and retching. _Feels like… shards… entering… everywhere… _

She fought to stand, failed, panting. The ship was losing speed, and Yue knew that the other Waterbenders were incapacited throughout the ship. The Imperial ships weren't moving, either. _Is that why? Must be. _She forced herself to think. _Pursuing us must be the last thing on their mind… ack…can't._

The pain kept increasing, and she knew she had to do something. She forced herself to think, to move, to do something. _Spirits… Tui…La… if I ever needed your aid, it is today! I can't… think… head…_

She then saw that a few crewmembers were on the deck, looking distressed, trying to help the stricken people. One came towards her, running, and she realized something: none of the men and women moving about were Benders.

"Lady Yue!" the man, a young man, said worriedly, "My Lady, hang on!"

"Steer the ship back!" she cried, forcing the words through. The man just looked at her. "You! And the other healthy ones! Steer it back the way we came!"

"My Lady?" the man said, his face confused. _Stupid man! Understand, please, or the pain'll kill us!_

"Steer the ship away! Something's… wrong… Bending… wrong!" She tried to grasp the man, to shake him, but a blast of pain forced her down. _Spirits…can't… what's…_

_Can't…_

_TUI!!_

And then there was blackness.

* * *

Ty Lee couldn't find it more boring than where she was. Even as a child, she'd been one for open spaces. She had driven every single member of her family crazy with her antics – which made her unique among her sisters, which was why she came to enjoy it so much. She'd been one for action and movement, which had fuelled her martial arts training and honed her skills as an acrobat over her circus days.

Being in a cell for so long was starting to get on her nerves.

As such, she tried to stave the boredom off by doing exercises between interrogation sessions. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, whatever came to mind. She'd set up a training schedule to pace herself, and so far the results were satisfying enough. Her skills might be a bit rusty in the limited pace, but her body was as fit as it ever was.

She was completing one last sit-up series when the wall actually changed from a window into a door, courtesy of Earthbending. She stopped, tensed. Then she felt who it was and resumed her series. The man who'd come in was unmistakable in presence, not even counting the scarred face.

"Hey, Zuko." She said cheerfully, barely panting, as she inwardly county to one hundred ninety-three. "Been a while since you visited."

"I guess so, since I never did visit." The former Prince mused with a hint of amusement, quickly dashed. "Come on. Sokka wants to see you."

_Ninety-eight, ninety-nine… two hundred. _She sighed, then jumped to her feet, facing the Firebender, whose arms were folded. She shook her head, then blinked when she noticed something was missing.

"No shackles?" she asked, "That's not the way people usually ask me to get out of here, you know!" she then waved her hands in front of her quickly, knowing how Zuko could react to quips. "Hey, not that I mind. No shackles' the way to go, really!"

He looked at her for a moment, and then shook his head. It seemed that a wistful smile played upon his lips a fleeting instant before he became impassive. He uttered a small sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

"You haven't changed a bit, I see." He mused, and there was something in his voice which told her that she had, in fact, seen a real smile. After all those grim days, it was nice to see a pale shadow of the better times she'd known as a child, before Zuko's banishment had darkened the whole thing.

"I'll take that as a compliment, right?" She answered, managing to both make a statement and ask a question all at once. Shrugging again, the former royal motioned for her to follow him. "You haven't changed, either." She grumbled.

"What was that?" he mused.

"Oh, nothing at all, really!" she said sweetly, waving to her former guards with a smile. Said guards looked rather nonplussed at that. She stretched and muttered appreciatively. "Sure feels good to be out of there!" she finally exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be too loud right now, Ty Lee." Zuko cautioned her, his tone stern. "I trust you, and Sokka trusts you. But it doesn't mean that everyone here does." He looked to his right, tensed slightly. "Speaking of which…"

Ty Lee had seen them exactly when Zuko had. Both were dressed in the blues of the Water Tribes. She remarked that one of the men was by far older, with greying hair and a complexion much like Zuko's. She didn't care about that man. She felt nothing malevolent from his eyes. The other man, with a scarred face, she knew well. She knew that smirk and that rage.

"Sangook." Zuko mused, his voice suddenly cold and brittle. It was clear that the former prince didn't like that man. As for Ty Lee, remembering the way he'd tortured her with Waterbending, she had to work to keep herself in check, glaring, hands twitching."I thought I told you I didn't need any help."

"Since when do I listen to Firebenders?" the other man hmphed, then gave Ty Lee a look over, grunting. "Kept yourself busy, eh? Must have thought all sorts of ways to kill us off, didn't you?" He stepped towards her. The man next to him immediately moved to forestall him, and Zuko's scowl deepened.

Fortunately, the other man gripped Sangook from behind and swivelled him around, his face gentle, yet retaining a soft air of command. Although this middle-aged man seemed far less formidable than Zuko or herself, Ty Lee saw that looks were deceiving when the younger Sangook actually started, and fell silence in the middle of a grunt.

There was a simple challenge in that stare, and Ty Lee could see that it could go only one way. Sangook's eyes fell, and he left with a growl. The martial artist watched him leave warily. The moment passed. The older man – whose looks reminded her somewhat of Sokka, now seemed relaxed, almost kindly.

"He's always a problem." Was all Zuko said as he watched the Waterbender stalk his way through the camp. "But he's been trouble lately. It's starting to get on my nerves."

"It's starting to get on Sokka's nerves, too!" Stated the man, as his eyes remained fixed on Ty Lee. "So, you're the prisoner. Ty Lee, the martial artist I've heard so much about! Pleased to meet you, I'm Bato of the Southern Water Tribe!"

_Yeah, that makes sense, yeah._ She grinned, even though the changes were dizzying her a bit. A few moments ago, she was in a cell, bored to tears. And now, she was being thrust into a camp where only Bato, Zuko, and a few others were looking at her without distrust or hatred.

Bato seemed to sense her discomfort, since he tapped her on the shoulder gently, his eyes showing a tiredness which she'd seen only in veterans who'd seen too much conflict and were sick of it. Zuko then bent over and spoke in her ear.

"Sokka's waiting. Let's go."

* * *

Sokka shook his head. He'd heard the arguments, and found several of them made sense. But he wouldn't change his mind about things.

"We stay here. At least for today, maybe tomorrow." He said. As he expected, Sangook reacted at once.

"You expect us to just stay here?!" He growled, an edge to his face, his voice. It was the voice which reminded everyone of the scars on his face, the scars given to him by a Firebender when he had been a very different, much younger man.

Sokka saw that look. Felt the rage. And, as a reaction to it, simply shrugged with a grin. He had seen his own father killed in front of his eyes. He'd fought Azula herself and lived to tell of it, even briefly gaining the upper hand. He'd seen, with his own eyes, the woman who had betrayed his heart and yet still ruled it overcome by something else.

Aside from all that and other hardships, Sangook's glare was nothing at all.

"Hey, Don't worry about it. I got a plan!" He exclaimed. He heard a sound coming from the doorway and gave the three who had assembled there a glare. "Hey! I heard that, Bato!"

The man who'd been his father's best friend and family to him put his hands in front of himself in mock defense. "Sorry. Its just that… you just said… I got a plan."

"And what's wrong with that?! I make great plans!" He fairly huffed. His irritation grew when he saw Bato and Zuko exchanging a look. Then they looked back at him – Bato amused, Zuko seemingly neutral. _Yeah, as if!_

"Right. A plan. With that tone." Zuko mused. "As long as its not like the one near Laogai."

"Whatever you say, Sokka." Bato said in a fatherly tone, "And I think the desert plan was the worst one."

"Ah, yes, I forgot that one."

"A classic."

"I should have you both whipped. Or hanged. Or something really painful-sounding!" Sokka sighed. He spotted Sangook, who was looking at the whole exchange with clear irritation, and changed his tone to something more serious. "We'll stay here a while, until we're ready."

"You said…!" the Waterbender growled. The young man stopped him with a friendly stare laced with steel. Sokka's patience was wearing thin. Too much was happening, too much to clearly keep track of. He wasn't in the mood for this.

_Should have known it'd be something like this. He had a chip on his shoulder when he came here today. _He thought, _Not that he doesn't always have one, but it was pretty irksome this time!_

He noticed that the Waterbender was looking – no, glaring, as usual – at the band. Or, rather, at the woman who was now blinking at the whole exchange. He recognized who it was and grinned. He was pleasantly – too pleasantly? – happy when she gave him a small wave. _Damn. I got it that bad? Not good._

"Alright. Mind leaving for a minute?" he asked, while making it clear there wasn't a choice. "I've got some things to tell our new girl."

Sangook seemed to be about to say something at that, then seemed to think better of it. His scarred face shot a glare at Ty Lee, who returned it steadily, before leaving. Bato looked at him as he went and made a worried noise. "He's getting worse these days."

"I get it this time. We're all ready to go kick Azula around. But after what happened…" the incident near his father's grave came to him, but he pushed it away as best he could. Katara was watching over Aang, and Suki herself was being cared for.

Still, it had shaken them all, and what he'd seen had made him reconsider some things. He shrugged at Ty Lee, who seemed to be as energetic as ever despite her days locked up. "Hey there! Nice of you to come! What'd you think of the camp?"

But Ty Lee was still looking back, clearly uncomfortable about Sangook. She didn't seem to have heard. Sokka exchanged glances with Zuko, and the Firebending prince left Sokka's room, after the ever-angry Waterbender. The boomerang-wielding, sword-swinging leader of the Mist Group of the Resistance sighed and came to touch Ty Lee, who started and looked up at him with a fierceness which surprised him.

_Idiot! What, you thought she'd just react like some pretty damsel? That girl's said to be one of the strongest female fighters on the continent, and you've seen enough of her to believe it! _Not only that, but touching her shoulder brought an intimacy which bothered him.

He moved his hand a bit, but before he could remove it completely, the young woman swiftly embraced him, hugging him fiercely with a grin. Bato actually chuckled at the site, and Sokka knew they must look strange to say the least. And, yet, he didn't push her away, but gently put his arms around her smaller body.

_Okay, this is bad, this is really bad. She's not Suki, okay, so just let her go. Spirits know what you're thinking Sokka! If you ARE thinking, that is! _The inner voice sounded too much like Katara for comfort.

Then Ty Lee looked up into his eyes, and the surge he'd been feeling intensified. The inner voice seemed to give a helpless sigh, and fell silent.

"Thanks for lettin' me out, Sokka!" she said brightly, stepping back and whirling as if the incident with Sangook hadn't happened. "I was getting cramped in there, you know!"

He didn't know what to say to that, really. He usually handled things like that better, he knew. Confused as he'd rarely been since his father had died fighting the Fire Emperor - or was it the Phoenix King? Was that term still in use ? – he defaulted to laughing and said the first thing which came to his mind.

Of course, it came out wrong.

"I hope you're prepared to work hard!"

And, of course, it was interpreted strangely to boot, as Ty Lee looked at him almost slyly.

"Hey," she said happily, "It depends on the kind of work we're talking about!" Her smile told everything, and Bato actually snorted in amusement, Sokka only able to give him a confused, irritated glare.

_Suddenly, I've got to think hard to remember why letting her out seemed like a good idea. I hope Katara and Toph have better luck handling things on their end!_

* * *

The man crashed through the overgrown plants, running as hard as he could, breathless. One looking at the scene would notice the panic in the man's eyes. The same observer could also see that he wore mismatched armour, partially undone, as if he had tried to remove it, presumably to run faster.

The fugitive found a forest trail and began to run on it quickly. As he ran, he looked towards the forest, frantically trying to scan for pursuit.

_Too late, _thought June, smirking inwardly, _far too late for that, Lakar_.

She found her inward amusement transposed into reality as her shirsu mount, Hagao, burst from the forest to land mere feet in front of the panicked man, who promptly fell on his back as he desperately tried to stop, turn back, and flee all at once. Atop the beast, looking – as she well knew – fearsome and resplendent in her deep red leather armour, her brown hair wildly blowing, the former bounty hunter looked down from on high.

"J-June!" stuttered the man, looking up with horror.

"You gave us quite a little run, Lakar." She admitted, her smirk almost gentle, "But really, did you really think we'd lose you. I never lose a scent. I never lose a prey. Ever."

"J-June. Y-you gotta understand…!" the man tried. And he tried to rise. He never got farther than trying. Before he even sat up, rustling noises were heard, and others left the wooden shadows to come and surround him. All wore a naked weapon, and none of them looked upon him with pity.

June swiftly and elegantly jumped to the ground, landing gracefully. Even though her body was starting to lose its youthful energy, a strict training regimen kept her body as fine as she ever was. Her expression lost all forms of amusement as she glided towards the surrounded man.

"I don't need to understand a thing. I get it. You needed money, and you looked for a way to get some." She mused, even as the man frantically nodded. "Mercantile as well as mercenary. Might have done it myself a few years ago." She nodded, and several of the others did the same. Those were the older members, those who'd been with her before the group had been founded – mercenaries all. "There's just one thing…"

"D-don't… I'm sorry okay? I really needed it, and the info wasn't going to endanger us! I swear that I wouldn't…!"

"Shut up!" she growled. "I got nothing to say to a whiner who's busy beggin' for his worthless life. You got accepted as a Blade, and you swore by the Blade." She gestured to the others. "I got no more time to waste on him. Keep him alive, we'll need to find out his source. But…" she gave a feral grin, "Remind him why we got our name, would you?

"J-J-June! June! DON'T!! PLEASE!! JUNE!!" Lakar screamed as half a dozen armed members fell upon him. In slight disgust, she turned away. Violence was part of her world, and the sounds she heard now were nothing new to her. She felt no pity or guilt. What she felt was very different.

_Should've seen him coming. I'm getting sloppy here if an idiot like Lakar can pull one like that. _She told herself. And then she felt a presence and she turned to her side swiftly, hands going for her weapons. _Someone here… who…? _Then she spotted the intruder, and her hands fell to her side. She snorted in irritation at the fit, dark-haired woman whose eyes saw everything and yet nothing.

"You've been taking lessons, haven't you?" She snapped. The woman many knew as the Blind Bandit shrugged.

"You don't get to have the Blue Spirit around ya day after day without picking some stuff up, you know."

"And here I thought you'd been captured." June half-whined. She had once tried to capture the Earthbending prodigy years earlier, and the resulting confrontation had left her with irritation as well as a grudging respect from the girl.

"So sorry to disappoint you, June." The other woman fairly drawled, although she felt something tight in the tone. _You got hurt, didn't you? Your pride, at least. _She could identify with that, and chose not to push. Toph cocked her head, grimacing slightly. "Geez, your guys are going at that guy, aren't they?" The bounty hunter had all but forgotten Lakar.

She crossed her arms, deciding that idling away in conversation wasn't her style. "Alright, what do you want?" June asked at length. Toph smiled, her unseeing eyes making her seem negligent to one who didn't know her. The warrior wasn't fooled one bit.

"Word from the Mist Leader. Sokka wants you to help him on something. Send three of your best swordsmen. If possible, someone with a pretty good knowledge of Ba Sing Se."

The demand inflamed June with anger. That sounded like an order to her, and she wasn't good with orders. Now, when Hakoda was around, she could respect that. But _Sokka_? "I run my group in the resistance. He runs his. I don't care what Sokka wants, he controls _Mist_, not _Blade._" She turned away, considering the conversation finished.

"You owe him…" Toph mused idly.

"Not enough to get some of MY people to work for HIM."

"…and he's so intent on having those three members that he'll pay you three thousand gold coins, one thousand for each." The Blind Bandit finished as if she'd never spoken at all.

June immediately swivelled back to the Earthbender, her eyes glinting. _Three thousand?! _That was enough to get her to overlook the young upstart's demanding ways. She clasped her hands together.

"Now, that's very different! Money's still a very nice commodity to have. Tell him he's got a deal with the Blade Group!"

"You'll send them?" Toph inquired, her blind eyes narrowing. Again, June smirked.

She took a moment to review her options, then nodded confidently. An idea had struck her. She looked at the group of warriors dragging poor, foolish Lakar back to the home base, and spotted those she wanted."Why not? I know exactly who'd be perfect, as well. You'll LOVE them."

* * *

Aang was floating. At least, that was the impression he had. Floating in a sea of nothingness. It was as if his body didn't exist anymore, and only his soul remained to remind him of his actual existence.

He felt his eyes were closed, and yet he couldn't open them. His mind was afire, as if an inferno had been lighted within. All he could do was cringe, but nothing would dampen the feeling.

He remembered that he'd been trying to do something. He'd gone with his new friends, to discover a woman whose eyes betrayed suffering, torture. It had shocked him, but nothing had prepared him for the strange, maddened voice which had come from her.

Not her voice – he had known that much in an instant – but that of another person. A person submerged by rage, who had called him a Successor, and lashed out.

Searing pain, and then…nothing tangible. Darkness.

"_This is dangerous at best, Roku…"_

"_I know, but what else can we do? He must know more. He must be prepared."_

"_Young, so young…"_

Voices. He heard them, as if from a great distance. And yet, it was as if those voice resonated from within himself. _Gyatso would know what's going on. _He thought irrelevantly, and felt a pang of grief as he remembered the kindly monk who'd been like a father to him.

A monk who'd certainly spent the last months of his life worried sick over the ungrateful kid who'd left him with only a short message.

"_Air Nomads training should help him make the transition. I say we do it." _That voice was female. It was strong, stern. Strength and decision flowed from it.

"_If only Kuruk wasn't so obsessed over his quest. We could use his power, we of the previous cycle."_ Another female voice. Gentler, more melodious, but no less powerful.

"_He won't come. But Lady Kyoshi is right. We have to do it, Lady Yangchen._" This voice was male. Of the three, it sounded the most concerned, but also the most determined. Aang recognized it easily. It was the voice which resonated the most in his soul. _Roku, that's Roku!_

There was silence. For a moment, he floated in the abyss, alone again. He thought of trying to awaken, to see what had happened to him. But he found that he couldn't. For some reason, he felt no panic about that. Instead, he felt a sort of understanding from that. _I'm not supposed to awaken yet. Sorry, Katara._

The last sentence bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Calling for Katara had been so easy, so matter-of-fact. The Waterbending woman, gentleness mixed with pain and growing despair, had always been special for him.

He'd felt it for the man named Sokka, for Toph and for Zuko. He felt more complete with them, for some reason. As if they were meant to be together. And Katara… her link with him… it felt stronger. He couldn't understand it. _I don't get it! I don't get anything! Roku!_

And then he felt a pull such as he'd never felt before. It was like something had clamped it by the feet and was steering him, sucking him, towards something. The fire in his head seemed to amplify, and he felt wrongness in this. Wrongness, and fright. He would have screamed, but he had no mouth.

"_We're hurting his very soul!" _Yangchen, distressed.

"_I know. But it must be done!"_ Kyoshi, grim.

"_Aang, just a little more. Just a little more…" _Roku, pleading. There were close. Very close.

The pain completely engulfed him for a second, and his spirit, his soul, trashed in pain. And then, as suddenly as it began, the pain cut off, and he found himself tangible. His eyes were still closed, but he felt himself falling, then felt real pain as he thudded to the hard ground. He uttered a reflexive cry of pain, and his eyes flew open.

His first impression was that he was in a forest clearing, but that impression faded fast. The forest was there, but the trees looked strange, off somewhat. There was serenity to the place, but there seemed to be a discordant note from somewhere, and he felt that the peace was somehow…fake.

But it was the sight of the three sitting around him which sent him to sitting position. One, a kind-looking woman wearing the garments of an Airbending Master. She looked at him in obvious relief.

The woman on the other side was much larger, almost a giant, clearly holding herself more like a warrior then anything else, the face pain only accentuated the impression of fierceness. She was dressed in a kimono and a headdress which, in turn, had the colours of the Earth Kingdom. She looked stern, but relief was palpable from her as well.

The third was Roku himself, who seemed spent but satisfied. The young Airbender turned to him quickly. Of all of them – powerful Avatars all, he knew – Aang felt the deeper kinship with his Firebending predecessor.

"Roku." He called, almost too afraid to believe. "You're…" he didn't know what to say anymore, and he fell silent.

"Yes, Aang." He mused, smiling. "I'm sorry we had to be so rough. But I was feeling what was happening to you, and we decided to act." He sighed, "A dangerous thing, but necessary. Things are getting dangerous for mortals and spirits. You've felt the beginnings of it."

"I did!" he exclaimed, everything else forgotten in his desire to know, to understand. "Something's out there. Something's wrong with the world."

"Yes, Aang." Kyoshi said grimly. "Something very wrong. Something which must never resurface is stirring. You must learn from us, so that you may stop him before its too late."

Aang didn't like the sound of that. And yet, the words seemed to mean something to him. Somewhere, he somehow felt a sort of unspoken dread, of something which happened long ago. The words slipped out of his mouth without him understand what they meant, and he felt his blood freeze when he did.

"He's free." He had said. The three previous Avatars nodded grimly.

"Yes, Aang." stated Yangchen with a sad, soft voice. "He is. And he seeks to finish what he began in his madness, centuries ago."


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Eighteen**

_There was anger in the other man's gaze. Anger, and power. This battle would be the greatest he had ever fought, would ever fight. And he knew that this foe was powerful enough to kill him if anything went wrong even in the slightest._

_Yet, he wouldn't budge. He wouldn't retreat. None of them would. The battle had been fought. Bloody, bitter, rageful, with countless sacrifices. He refused, as a Firebender and as a man, to let those got to waste._

"_You've tyrannized this world long enough, Fallen One!" One of his friends grunted, her voice, normally as gentle as the breeze she liked to Bend so formidably, harsh and unforgiving. "We'll stop you, here and now!"_

_And that man, laughing, more in anger than amusement. For the first time in decades, people who could defeat him had appeared, and he couldn't take it. _

"_You think you can? Then quit talking and show it to me! Show me you can stop my dream!"_

_He readied himself, and then surged forward, calling upon the flames which had been his friends ever since he'd been but a small child, his Firebending forming into mighty sheets of fire…_

Zuko opened his eyes suddenly, and began to sit up in his bed, only to immediately notice the Spartan, earth-cut interior of his little home in the resistance. He lay back down, sighing in relief.

"What was that?" he asked, knowing he was quite alone. Only Toph shared this small living space, and the oft-obnoxious, sometimes gruffly sweet Earthbender was still away on her mission for Sokka. _Too bad. I could use that annoying woman right now._

The exiled prince smiled to himself at that. There had been a time, years ago, when he wouldn't have thought of ever being on friendly terms with any Earthbender. From his youngest age, he'd been taught that the Earth Kingdom was the enemy, the one which had kept the Fire Nation from achieving dominance and giving the world an age of prosperity the likes of which had never been seen.

He had been raised, and conditioned, to think that way. Even his Uncle hadn't been able to break that habit then.

And yet, there he was, exiled for half of his life. His nation thought him a traitor, his best friend was a man of the Water Tribe and the woman most special to him… was a rude, obnoxious Earthbender.

_How's that for irony? _He thought to himself. With that, he promptly tried to forget about the strange dream, and the dread he'd felt from it. No matter how silly it seemed, it had almost sounded like… a warning. An omen. Another thing he never believed in in his youth, but now…

Dressing quickly, donning the black garments he often wore for practice and stealth missions, he left what passed for his home and walked through the bustle of the resistance village. Of all of the places Hakoda and Iroh had built over the years, this was the one Sokka had chosen as his main headquarters, and it showed.

Mainly, the place was electrified. Sokka had a plan, people knew. There was going to be a fight, but Sokka had a plan. They'd come through. Not because of Benders, not because of luck. No, they were going to win, no matter what, because Sokka had a plan.

_If only you knew how you inspire these people, my friend. _The prince caught himself thinking, then dismissed it. Sokka never believed in his own importance, and there was no changing that, as sad as that was.

"Good Morning, Your Highness!" Said a voice which sounded both cheerful and respectful. He grinned as Usha seemed to materialize out of thing air. _She's gotten better at stealth. I only felt her a bit. _

"Still going on with Your Highness, Usha?" he mused. "And good morning to you, too."

"Of course I am!" she said earnestly. "You're the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation!"

"The Emperor might have something to say about that." He noted. " And its not the Fire Nation anymore."

"You're wrong, Prince Zuko." Said another voice. One he'd learn to respect over the years. He turned and bowed to an elderly man who, while clothed simply, held himself with the air of someone used to the battlefield.

"Master Jeong." Zuko said. "You honor us. What brings you here?"

The old man smiled, always severe despite his gentle mien. "I'm here simply to talk to Sokka. But I heard something interesting from you two. Might you walk with this old man, Sire?"

Zuko nodded, and the trio resumed their walk to Sokka's war room, carved from the earth. After a few moments of silence, Jeong Jeong spoke.

"Your Uncle Iroh – may the Spirits keep his brave soul – always saw you as the one who would change the Fire Nation back to what it was before Fire Lord Sozin." He mused. "And, in time, as I saw you fight, as I watched you grow into a fine, honourable warrior, I came to believe it as well."

Zuko shook his head, began to speak, but the old master forestalled him.

"You're going to tell me that's not true, that you've given up on your heritage at any rate." The old man said. "That's a lie, too, I think. You're not a man of the Empire. But you're a man of the Fire Nation. And I believe that, one day, you'll remember that."

"Right now, I'm more concerned about the Avatar. He needs our help, Master Jeong." Zuko mused. Usha nodded at this. The old man simply grinned as they came near Sokka's place.

"All of your destinies will lead to something better, I'm certain. His, yours, and that of your comrades." He said, and entered the room. Zuko stayed outside with Usha and muttered something.

"Prince Zuko?" she asked, frowning.

"I said… I hate the word destiny. It always means pain for somebody. And it doesn't always mean things end all that well."

***

The first thing Yue thought when she regained consciousness was that she didn't want to do so at all. Her head felt like it was made of molten lead, and her mouth felt drier than dried wood. She also felt like small, invisible things were dancing over her gut.

It was all she could do to open her eyes. Yet she did, to find one of the temple initiates intently looking at her efforts to awaken with clear relief in his eyes.

"Praise the Spirits, my Lady. You're alright." He breathed. He looked pale himself, on the verge of exhaustion. The sight forced her to clear away the pain and the cobwebs in her mind, forced her to take stock of what was happening. This was what her father had done. That was what they expected the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe to do.

So she rose from the bed, tentatively taking a step or two, vaguely relieved that she remained clothed. When her body began to respond to her gentle proddings, she took the step she had always seen her father take when a crisis came. It was always his first question, and might well have been the reason he was such a beloved ruler in life.

"How's everyone on the ship? You look exhausted." She asked gently, ignoring the throbbing in her head. Then she remembered, and froze "Something affected us…"

"Yes, Lady Yue." The man told her respectfully. "But not us. Not all of us. Everyone who could Waterbend was affected." He coughed uncomfortably, "Badly."

That got her attention. "How badly?" she demanded.

"You are the only Waterbender on the ship who's awakened. And that might be because of the other night." The man's voice became hushed at that, "A light flickered around you. Or from inside of you. We couldn't tell. And suddenly you seemed rejuvenated."

_A light. Yes. Before I collapsed, I begged Tui for aid. She and La answered._ She thought, _Thank you, my guides… though I could have done without the headache._ "And you? You've been steering this ship since then?"

"We've done our best to. But only six of us were unaffected. We managed somehow, for while. But there was little we could do, so when they…" He stopped, clearly uncomfortable.

"What happened?" She asked at once. _It can't be the Empire. I'd already be in chains, or dead. _She reasoned. _What could there be that… unless, of course. _"Ah. I see. Or I think I did."

"I… I'm sorry my Lady. But we had no choice. So we…" he bowed his tired head. "We managed to limp to Enki Fortress."

_Well, it's not the Empire, at least. Really. But, still, Enki Fortress… _she thought with some alarm.

When Fire Lord Sozin used the power of the Comet long ago, the Earth Kingdom was weakened, much of its lands seized. When Fire Lord Ozai had done the same a century later, it had been beaten until little of the realm remained free.

Still, always, there was Enki Fortress. She had seen it once, as a child, and had been frightened by it. Walls upon walls, of the strongest granite, offering a a protection nearly equal to Ba Sing Se's walls themselves. Watchposts, and passageways, surrounding many barracks, food stockpiles, arms depots and a sturdy fortress at the center, all practicality. It was a fearsome, powerful place.

But many places had been taken by the Fire Nation which many had thought impregnable. Omashu had fallen to the steel bridges of the Fire Nation, and the walls of Ba Sing Se themselves had been breached. Yet Enki Fortress remained, despite being surrounded by imperial territory.

She'd learned why from her father when she had questioned him, a year before Zhao came.

"_**It's because of their soldiers." He had said after a moment.**_

_**She had shaken her head, certain she'd caught her father being vague. "Surely you mean their Earthbenders. I suppose if they were all powerful Benders, then they might be able to hold their own…"**_

"_**Yue, I wasn't being vague, and I wasn't being misleading." He had replied, the voice which had benevolently held the northern continent together calmly chiding. "I never said their Earthbenders. I mean their soldiers. Their soldiers are the ones which held back so many invasions of the fortress, kept their small port open and a constant thorn on the side of the Fire Lord."**_

"_**They're that strong, Father?"**_

"_**In the Earth Kingdom, they say there's nobody more skilled in combat. Each soldier is worth five or more." He then shivered a bit. "I can believe it. I've seen them. They don't look much, but when you see them move about… that's why Enki is so powerful. A few hundreds like that could hold a whole army."**_

_And now I'm about to meet then, am I?_

As if on cue, footsteps resounded on the other side of her door. Firm, strong, implacable. The door was opened and a man came in, dressed in the green and yellow armor of the Earth Kindom. By the armor itself, it was a man of some rank.

He was bald and clean-shaven, and what skin she saw was marked by scars, great and small, criss-crosing his face and arms, which were naked. He wasn't all that impressive in bulk at first sight, but she saw muscles moving underneath the skin of the arms and the neck as he came to face her. His poise and manners seemed to be nothing less than an hungry Polar Leopard ready to pounced on anything that moved.

Yet there was no nervous movement. When he stopped, he stayed perfectly still, as if movements not used to move or fight were frivolous at best. He looked at her with clear, black eyes for a moment, and that was when she understood why her father, a brave man, had shivered. There was something… incredibly frightening… once you took the whole. Something which screamed this man as a predator in all circumstances.

And then he spoke to her, and his voice cracked like a whip. A voice used to command, and not at all impressed by her presence.

"Awake, aren't you just." The man said, black eyes missing nothing as she nodded. "Good, good. Welcome at Enki Fortress. I'm Colonel Thanak. Make sure you have a good reason for bothering us, why don't you. Or else we won't be happy with you, be sure of that."

_Better than the Empire, yes. _She told herself as she forced a diplomatic smile upon her face to acknowledge this frightening man, this predator. _Better, but certainly no less frightening right now._

***

"How's he doing?"

Katara looked up and saw her brother entering. Once again, seeing him brought her nothing but conflicting emotions. They'd become less volatile over time, had mellowed. But they were still there, just beneath the surface.

Anger. Joy. Longing. Sadness. She didn't know what she felt when she looked at her brother anymore. But she knew one thing: she'd hadn't forgiven him for leaving, and yet she'd missed him terribly.

She looked down at the small, bald boy sleeping on the couch, so still one could almost think he was dead. A small body, really, but in which rested the hopes of an entire world. _Ironic, no? _She thought wearily.

"Katara?" Her brother asked again.

"I don't know. He's sleeping. Sleeping and not waking up." She said at last, snapping each word. She didn't mean to sound so aggressive, but her visit to her father's grave, although she'd prepared herself, had rattled her. And then, there had been this strange thing in the woods, this… presence she'd felt in her bones.

"Go get some sleep. You need it." Sokka said in a voice which sounded so much like her father's that she almost flinched. Then she reacted to the words the only way she felt like doing.

"Don't tell me what to do, Sokka." She said, and she looked up to look at his face. She could see her brother there, but it wasn't quite the joking, reckless soul she'd known as a child. This was a colder, harder man. It made it easier. "I'm not one of your men."

"That's not why I'm…" he started, but she was on a roll. The stress was speaking, the anger and sorrow and confusion were speaking in her head.

"Stop talking like you're the Chief to a warrior!" she growled. "I'm not one of your warriors, got that?! And even if I was…" she ground her teeth, keeping the words bottled up. She couldn't say that. Part of her wished to, but another recoiled from it.

Sokka, however, reacted only by closing the drapes and leaning on the wall. He looked tired, but his gaze didn't leave her. He was waiting, she realized, for her to finish what she'd started.

"Say it, Katara." He mused. "Just say it."

"Now's not the time…" she said, and turned back to watching Aang.

She was shocked when she found herself taken and lifted by the shoulder, and spun around to face her brother's own angry face. She resisted the urge to use Waterbending against him. No matter the confusion… he was her brother, and that'd never change for her.

"It wasn't the time at the port! It wasn't the time at Dad's grave!" he said, his eyes flashing. "Say it! If you were one of my warriors, what then? What then?!?"

"I wouldn't follow a coward who leaves without telling anybody!" she shouted in his face.

At that, Sokka's anger seemed to vanish almost immediately. He let her go, looked about the place, and then settled for looking at Aang. He seemed to be searching for something to say. The way his brow was furrowed, it wasn't easy to find anything to say.

"Old Jeong Jeong's waiting." He muttered. "I've got to go." As he said so, he began to move off.

Katara didn't know if it was the anger of the moment, the tension in the room, or bitterness from many years of not knowing. But suddenly she couldn't take it, this Sokka. This face so much like her father's face, with a voice so much like her brother's voice, yet the whole so… different from either.

She reached out, and pulled water from a nearby basin with which she'd cleaned the young monk, pulled it out with her Bending, and whipped it at Sokka's face. "Don't you dare just walk away from here!"

Sokka was hit by the water, but instead of lurching, he rolled, the wall taking most of the water, and came to his feet in one movement. For herself, Katara was looking at the water with not a bit of guilt, but also with a great deal of confused excitement. _Waterbending's becoming easier each days. _She thought, but the thought which followed was less amusing to behold. _I struck Sokka. Again. I attacked him._

The young man, for his part, looked at Katara with eyes which suddenly reminded her of the brother who'd often played with her. These eyes were those of the brother who'd often annoyed her but who she'd always trusted.

_I attacked him. _

"Katara…" he said, and this time there was no coldness to his voice. "There were reasons…"

And then they heard excited shouts from the rest of the camp. Voices were shouting, and several were heading their way. Something was going on, and Sokka's face immediately clammed up. Her brother's face had been changed to that of the Resistance leader.

"I didn't just run, got that?" He stated simply.

"Then what happened?" she asked, gritting her teeth. "Tell me!" But he was gone, his steps quick, crossing to the excited voice. It was like he'd just shut her off until later.

She looked at the young monk again, looking so peaceful, and she envied him. She hadn't known true peace ever since her mother had been murdered. She had lost both parents, and perhaps her brother.

This angered her. This saddened her. This confused her. And she was tired of it. She was a Waterbender, self-taught, and had gone through many ordeals of her own. Her brother had no right to act like he could just walk away from an explanation!

_Nine years. I though he was dead most of the time. He worried Gran Gran so much she almost died. The kids cried when they learned he wasn't there anymore. And you just say you got reasons? _

"What happened, Sokka?" she muttered to herself, "What happened that you forgot me and Gran Gran and our whole village?" With that, she resumed the rather appeasing task of looking after the unconscious, young Avatar.

***

Aang coughed. Opened his mouth. When no sound came out of it, he tried coughing yet again. A thousand questions were rushing through his mind, but he couldn't quite voice any of them. He'd met Roku briefly, and that had been impressive enough.

But three previous Avatars? He found that hard to cope with to say the least. And to top it all, there was Avatar Yangchen with them. Yangchen, the last Avatar from the Air Temples before himself, who had brought about an era of peace and prosperity.

The other Avatars seemed to realize his discomfort, as both Roku and Yangchen smiled gently, while Kyoshi's stern visage softened considerably. Still, he was surprised when she was that one to actually speak.

"Don't worry about it, Aang." She said, and her voice, hard and resolute, held a gentleness which reminded the Airbender that earth could soften and yield at times. "You must have many questions."

At those words, what the young monk had been feeling for a while burst out more violently than he'd expected it would. "I'll say! I don't get anything that's happening! What's happened to me? Who was that guy? Wasn't one of you! And that girl, there was something in her! What…?"

"Aang. Aang. Calm down. It's alright." Roku said soothingly. And then Aang shocked himself all over again, even though he found himself in full agreement with his own words.

"No, its not alright!" he found himself saying, "It's not something's very wrong with the world, and its got nothing to do with the war!" he gritted his teeth, but could keep out a whimpering sound when he spoke again. "And I don't know… what I should do."

"Right down to it." Kyoshi mused, nodding. It seemed to fit her style. Yangchen's eyes looked at her Earthbending successor a moment before looking back towards Aang himself.

"Aang, we don't know everything that's happening. But we know who's basically at fault." She said, sadly. With that declaration, the young monk's heart sank. He already had a good idea what they would say, and hated it very much.

"The Empire? That Ozai guy I've heard about?" he tried asking, but he saw Roku's frown and knew he'd gotten it wrong. _And that's bad, because I think there's one reason for that somehow…  
_

"No, Aang." The elderly man muttered, seemed to rally, and finally looked back with piercing eyes, decided. "Ozai's ancestor Sozin," he mused, and a flash of pain crossed his face, "started all this. But what's really created the danger, Aang, is you."

_And that's exactly it. Perfect. I hate guessing and being right. _Aang thought glumly as shock set in. He nearly missed what Kyoshi said next.

"Not you, in the physical sense. But your absence." The stern Earthbender grunted. " The world needs the Avatar for more than settling disputes and Bending the elements. It's a factor of stability for the Mortal World itself."

"But you were absent for so long… the cycle wasn't broken, but it became mystically stagnant." Yangchen started, then blinked as Aang jumped up and began pacing.

"You're not making any sense! Because I was in that chunk of ice, the world's going crazy? Why? How come the cycle's gone bad? I wasn't gone!" Aang realized he was babbling, but he couldn't care less. Instead, he felt more than a bit of frustration. How come everything always seemed to depend on him in the end?!?

"Aang, the three of us understand what you're going through." Roku said patiently. "It's a heavy burden each of us here bore." He sighed at that. "Some more successfully than others." He finished, but it seemed that the aged Firebender said it more for himself.

Years of monk training managed to assert themselves, bringing the young man a veneer of calm. He was lashing out at the wrong people, he knew. If anyone understood, it was them. He sat down with them again.

"Okay, so… I wasn't dead. But I wasn't doing anything. So the world's getting messed up with the spiritual side?"

"Very good, Aang." Yangchen said approvingly, nodding with a slight smile. "I'm happy you saw that much on your own. It is your power speaking to you."

"But that doesn't help me! What am I supposed to do?"

"Defeat the Empire. Help to restore Balance to the world." Kyoshi said calmly. "That is a certain task. In this you shall certainly have aid. But there is another matter. A different one, but no less important."

"Indeed, more important." Yangchen said. All three past Avatars looked grave, troubled by this problem. Seeing three experienced Avatars, people who had shouldered decades of the burden Aang was just now beginning to feel, worried made Aang feel cold all over.

"More important?" he muttered, and that was all he managed to ask. It seemed Roku had made a decision of some sort, for he stirred.

"Spirits bound by the stable barrier between the Mortal World and the Spirit World are escaping their bounds. All of them were dangerous. But none equal the one who is at the crux of the problem." Aang's predecessor mused. "Even the Elder Spirits worry if this one should ever regain a foothold, could latch on to a soul."

"Why? If I manage to fix this barrier thing somehow, shouldn't it be okay?" The young monk asked, trying to keep the frustration and mounting despair out of his voice.

"Not that one. Once released, that one can find ways around such a thing." Kyoshi said, ever painted face screwed up in concentration, her large body tense. "He has, after all, intimate knowledge of this."

"He's a powerful Spirit, too?" Aang asked.

Aang didn't quite know what they'd answer, how they'd react to this simple question. He knew he wouldn't like it, of course, but he didn't know to what extent. But even his most pessimistic estimate of the situation – which he was still desperately trying to grasp, he admitted – failed when Yangchen looked at him solemnly.

"No, Aang, not just a Spirit." She said evenly. "But much worse. For that Spirit used to be part of us. That powerful Spirit was an Avatar. And one of the worst tyrants the world has ever seen."

* * *

Author's notes: Sorry about this extremely long delay. I had to take a break. Now, however, I've been able to talk about the story and I've written the story more clearly. Things should move faster from now on. ^_^


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Nineteen**

Yue had had the best possible education in her youth, an education which she considered still ongoing. When it was clear that another child would likely kill his wife, the man hadn't hesitated, and declared Yue his heir, no matter what the hard-liners could say. It had created problems – not the least of which had been Hahn and his family – but he had stayed true, deciding that his daughter would be well-versed in the events of the world.

Her father's foresight and her own nature now allowed her to remember about Ryuku Fortress. And also to realize that words didn't do the place justice.

Ryuku Fortress had been built centuries ago, when another, different war with the Fire Nation had been very possible. Although that war had been averted in the end, there had been enough skirmishes to convince the Earth King of that time to complete the fortress, a bastion if it ever became necessary for himself to flee the then-growing Fire Nation military might.

As the Outer Walls of Ba Sing Se were completed, the fortress was forgotten. No Earth King ever went there. But the place remained, and over the years developed its own fighting philosophy.

The fortress was nearly all stone, strengthened by steel gates and spiked parapets. She couldn't quite see all of the fortifications, but the highly fortified inner port – which could be only reached through a cave protected by several chokepoints, redoubts, and at least two immense gates – told her enough. The high walls, the reinforced barracks, armories, smithies and ranks of training soldiers told her that the place likely deserved its impregnable moniker.

The men themselves looked formidable. Each of them walked about calmly, eyes scanning for trouble, perpetually on alert. Each was garbed in Earth Kingdom uniforms, except they had no sleeves, and none except guards wore helmets. The bare arms and head showed lean, hardened muscles, as well as several burn marks.

"Admiring the sights, Your Highness?" colonel Henji interrupted her thoughts, and she had to crane her head upward to look the massive man in the eyes. Although the soldiers of Ryuku all looked remarkably fit, the fortress' second-in-command, seemed like a wall of muscle, so tall that Yue barely reached past his waist. Still, there had been no hostility in the gruff voice, and she smiled.

"I was merely looking. Ryuku is even more impressive than spoken of." She mused. _Not that my business had anything to do with Ryuku. In fact, my business is much different than you can imagine, Colonel._

The tall, muscular man nodded, his eyes and face betraying nothing. "It is. But it's the men who make this fortress' strength. Stone is just stone. Bending is nothing but Bending. But strong wills make a place strong or weak. And our will has never failed."

That, she could believe. She saw it in every pair of eyes, she felt it in the ordered cleanliness of the paved fortress streets. This was a place of strength, where Bending was nothing and training everything. It both frightened her and reassured her.

Yue and her rather uneasy retinue – the two female healer by her side, however, seemed to look at some of the soldiers in appreciation – were eventually led into the central building of the fortress. Here was the Kingdom's architecture preserved, yet in a Spartan fashion. Few drapes or ostentatious decorations were present, and everything seemed military, orderly.

Even the room they entered had that feel. At the center of that room, far from any of the walls, was a small, throne-like chair, where Ryuku's commander could hold audience. In that chair, flanked by two, unmoving guards, was the man she needed to see.

General Wei-Li dressed much like his soldiers, except that a bardic of sort, denoting his higher rank, was arrayed on him. Like his men, he was bald and clean-shaven, although wrinkles showed that he was a man long past his youth. His folded arms were as leanly-trained as his men, and just as covered with scars and burns, many of them brown with age.

His eyes speared them as they entered, even as he unfolded his arms and put them on the armrest in one, fluid movement. His gaze swept through Yue, and she immediately knew that this man wasn't one you trifled with. This was a man people obeyed in battle, respected in battle.

Henji, although immense next to the other man – Wei-Li looked barely more than of average height – bowed from the waist, his whole movement that of quiet respect. "General, these are the ones found near our waters. Lady Yue, High Priestess and Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. And her attendants."

A slight nod, and Henji stood aside. Both leaders then took a moment taking each other's measure. At last, Wei-Li seemed to soften ever so slightly, and gave another nod. "Chief Yue. Welcome to Ryuku, home of the Stone Dragons."

Yue wondered if she should bow or not, as her rank, whatever it was, was secondary to his own in this fortress. Then, in a flash, she saw her father, felt his strength, and knew that Arnook of the Water Tribe wouldn't have let anyone forget his own worth. As her attendants prostrated themselves in humble greetings, she simply nodded back pleasantly. "You honour me, General."

This actually seemed to agree with something in the general, for he seemed to relax just a bit more. "You're certainly far away from your lands. What is the Northern Water Tribe doing in the Earth Kingdom?" He asked, his voice even, almost gentle. Almost.

_The Fire Empire, General. The Earth Kingdom is broken, its King likely dead, its armies shattered. _She thought that, reflexively, and knew those words could never be spoken here. Here, at least, the Kingdom still held sway, and the Earth King's word was still law. It gave her some hope.

"General," she stated at length, carefully choosing her words. This was different than back home, this wasn't a spiritual matter. This was a man who believed in flesh and blood, in hard facts, quantifiable truths. "I am here on an errand for the Resistance here in the Kingdom." _Its true, in a sense._

"The Chief of the Northern Water Tribe is on an errand herself?" The other man answered, his eyes flashing ever so slightly. 'Our fortress isn't so removed that we don't know what's happening. Even King Bumi himself doesn't have authority over you. Don't insult me with talks of an errand.'

She felt her aides tense, and hoped none of them would try anything foolish. There was no clear water source here, and these men knew how to handle Benders. Yue sighed as she realized this, but kept composed.

"I am not insulting you, General. But I am on an errand. On my own volition, and under my own will." She mused gently, "I am here to aid The Avatar, General."

That got attention. The guards stirred a moment, and Henji's brows shot up. "The Avatar is gone, has been for well over a century." He grunted.

"I am aware of that. I also know that he is here. That he will need help. And that I must do what I can."

But the colonel only shook his head. "The days are dark enough without you mocking us with fairy tales." He said, at that, Yue's attendants jumped up, and the guards tensed. Yue immediately raised her hands and looked at her people.

"Leave this to me." She stated. They hesitated, and Yue dropped her mien as a priestess. Instead, she drew strength from her father, and acted as he would have. "That is a direct command from your Chief. You will _leave this_ to _me_."

And at that, it seemed, they remembered whose daughter she was, and they bowed. All of them looked rather sullen, however. Inwardly, something about this worried her, but she couldn't dwell on it now. She turned her gaze back towards Wei-Li, and saw that, unlike the others, his gaze betrayed no disbelief. _Yes, this man has lost his youth. But his body is still powerful, and his mind even more so._

"The Avatar, you say?" he mused, and Henji stirred. "Enough, Henji. She is the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. She must be heard, and will be." The general waited a moment, and then mused, almost wistfully, "The Avatar, returned after so long?"

"Yes," she answered earnestly, "And he'll need me – all of us – as much as we'll need him. It is…quite a tale, general."

He leaned back just a bit, his face unreadable as ever. "Interesting, Chief Yue. Tell me everything. Then I'll see if this all warrant my attention."

"And if it doesn't?" she couldn't help but ask. The answer didn't quite surprise her, although it still managed to chill her for a moment.

"I'm afraid you won't like it much if that happens."

* * *

The man who'd become a leader without truly wishing it couldn't tell if the energy he felt was because of the complex series of emotions he was feeling. His meeting his sister had gone down a road he had seen coming for a while. After all, it was impossible for Katara to simply forget the years he'd been absent from home. He truly understood that much.

But she seemed to be piling all the troubles in the world unto his shoulders, as if she'd been the only one to suffer from the separation. There had been reasons for what he did, after all. _But I'm not in the mood for it right now. Spirits, as if my life wasn't complicated enough, now I've got to deal with her!_

He came upon his head scout, who was already conversing with Zuko and Jeong Jeong. All three men looked tense and pensive, and that meant only one thing in the young Water Tribesman's mind. _So, Azula's made a move. Gotten tired of waiting for mine, eh?_

Sokka joined them and received respectful nods from both the old Firebender and the younger one. He also received an even more respectful salute from the head scout. This had been something he'd fought to get used to over the years. As he nodded at the scout in turn, he felt enough discomfort to wonder if he'd ever succeed.

"Lets skip the formalities, alright?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light. "Gotta go keep Suki company 'till she wakes up, and then…" he sighed, he just wasn't in the mood. _Five years ago, I could joke non-stop without a problem. What happened? _"Okay, enough. What's going on, Erim?"

The young woman, slightly younger than Sokka, had been a scout hand-picked by Hakoda himself, who'd been good enough for him to choose as Head Scout and keep her there over the last three years. The short-haired, athletic woman wasn't one to exaggerate, or lose her calm. That was why the tension he felt from her was restrained, and her words were controlled and precise.

"Skipping details and formalities, sir," she told him, "We have a rather serious situation. About two thousand imperials are advancing into Taku Forest right now."

At that information, it seemed as if Katara's questions lost their importance. The strange sights, what happened to Suki, the supposed spiritual imbalance in the world – all that were things he had no control of. But this was something he could tackle. This was something he could do something about.

"Where are they coming from?" he asked. "Which direction?"

"Some from the northeast, some from the east." Came the answer. At that, Sokka blinked. He'd been thinking that they'd be coming from only one direction. But to come from two directions?

"They're not in one group?" he asked her. At her headshake, he pressed on. "Tell me everything. How did they deploy?" _If they got two main directions, they're already more spread out than they should._

Erim took only a moment to answer. One of the skills Sokka looked for in his scouts was an excellent memory, and she was no different from the others in that respect. "As far as we know, the general in charge had them divide in groups of roughly one hundred each. Twenty groups, each with its own searching pattern."

Jeong Jeong shook his head at that even as Sokka gaped. "Ridiculous."

The young leader couldn't agree more. A group of two thousand moving in as one force, with careful coordination, would be a force to be reckoned with. However, twenty groups without adequate contact could be separated from each other, and attacked individually. _Theroritically, it makes for a wider search, but to do this on an actual battlefield..._

"Alright." He said. "Okay. This is good. I like. I like." Sokka pinched his nose a minute, trying to picture the situation in his mind. "We can do some real damage if they're not careful like that."

"Who's in charge of this? This can't be one of Azula's more competent commanders." Zuko mused. "It's not like her to be sloppy."

"I don't think she is." Sokka grunted. He'd faced Azula enough times over the years to know that the woman rarely slipped, certainly never misjudged character that badly and never, ever, did things without some kind of reason. "I think this is just a salvo. This is just her giving us a rude challenge." He grinned at that. "Gotta give your sister credit, Zuko: she's never boring."

Zuko shrugged with a sullen look. Ever since Iroh's death, Zuko's resentment of Azula had given way to outward hatred. Although the powerful exiled royal contained it, Sokka knew the other man would like nothing better than to burn his little sister alive. Although he understood why, that had always rather disquieted Mist's leader.

"Zuko… you've trained a few of the Firebenders around here." he said. "I want you to take them and track down the main unit. If possible, find their commanding officer and either capture him or kill him." He muse. _Since when has giving an order like that become so… easy for me?_

He didn't want to dwell on that, nor on the fact that Zuko reacted without surprise. Instead, the former Crown Prince only nodded and departed, leaving Sokka with Jeong Jeong and Erim, in a camp already in a flurry of activity. Rather, he focused on pressing onward.

"Erim…" he thought quickly, considering the impact of his orders. "I want you to find out best Earthbenders. Tell them to open skirmished with the units which go the farthest in front, and have your people report their reactions. If we can find a weakness in one of them, we might open a door and do some real damage." He blinked, and stopped the woman as she was about to leave.

"And try to get in touch with June of the Blades. I want to coordinate with her." He sighed as she left, looking around as the men and women, at their faces, and the fact that they trusted him. _Katara might be right wondering about me. I've changed. I've changed a lot_. "Master Jeong. I don't like myself a bit when these things happen."

Jeong Jeong nodded. "Excellent."

He looked at the older man intently. "A good thing, huh?"

"Yes." The old Firebender mused, nodding. "You dislike the idea of warfare. That's good. It actually makes you a good leader. It differentiates you from leaders like June. And its why I think you're the best leader we have."

Sokka didn't answer that. Though he appreciated the praise, he wasn't sure he appreciated the military ability – the ability to wage battle – it implied.

* * *

The young Avatar couldn't tell if what his predecessors had told him had truly sunk in. Part of him didn't want it to do it. It went against everything he'd been taught ever since he could understand words.

The monks had taught him, throughout his life, that the Avatar was an inviolable force, a Spirit binding itself to the soul of a chosen man and woman who could Bend one of the four Great Elements. He was certain that there were lessons in which the purity of the Avatar was said to be strong enough that he or she couldn't be corrupt.

He looked at Roku, looking sorrowful. At Kyoshi, with the strong face of a warrior. And at Yangchen, who looked like the sisters of the female temples. All three seemed to be understanding of his confusion. But they all showed utter seriousness in their words.

"That… that's not possible." He breathed at last. "There's no such thing as an Avatar who went evil."

"Aang, one thing you need to understand about the world," Kyoshi cut him off sternly, "Is that there is the impossible is impossible. Good and evil are abstract, so abstract its impossible for one to exist without the other."

"All of us are both good and evil, Aang." Yangchen added at once. "We are both decent and indecent people. The spiritual awakening of being the Avatar usually keeps our more negative side far less powerful than our positive side, so we generally grow to be good, fair people."

"But that didn't work for that one." Kyoshi grunted, slapping the ground, and her eyes flashed. "Something happened to the Fallen One, something which was so powerful that it jarred its mind away from the path, and for decades it tyrannized the world, an agent of evil and chaos. An insane disgrace purged from the Cycle."

"But that's… that's…" The young monk shook himself mentally. _Get a grip. Get a grip. I managed so far. I'll manage again! _"Okay… that's… horrible. I can't wrap my mind around that. I-I can't. But… I believe you. I g-g-gotta." He sighed, closing his eyes.

Then he opened them, and he poured all of his control into what he said next. "Okay… so the Fallen Avatar… I gotta know about him. Tell…tell me more." _Yeah, that sounded okay. They look pleased._

Roku continued to regard Aang with clear sorrow. It only deepened when Aang asked for information. "You know everything that we know, Aang."

The boy's eyes widened in disbelief as the other two of his predecessors nodded solemnly. This had to be a joke. "You're _kidding_! How am I supposed to stop that guy, if I don't know more than that?!"

"Aang, we never knew of the Fallen One while we were Avatars. The knowledge was purged from everything, even the Cycle." Yangchen said gently.

"To understand the Fallen, you have to seek knowledge from those who kept it alive and hidden." Roku said. "In the Great Fire Temple, Aang, I once heard there were ancient, sealed writings, written by one who, if my lore can be trusted, once helped in defeating the Fallen One."

"The Four Keepers." Yangchen nodded. "Though I know little more than the name. But, if not there, then perhaps Wan Shi…"

At that moment, before any of them could react, there was something with them. Like a bolt of lightning, it struck right in their midst, striking Avatar Yangchen as she spoke. She cried out as she was flung backwards, and Kyoshi and Roku both recoiled for a moment. Aang could do nothing but gape at the scene.

Kyoshi's surprise was only momentary. Quickly, her surprise became determined certainty, and she quickly brought out her steel fans and brought herself to what the young boy could only suppose was a fighting poise.

"Its here." she growled, "It looks like we don't have time to talk anymore." Behind her, Yangchen was painfully coming to her feet.

_**Children, **_a voice mocked from everywhere at once, _**little children all of you. Still completely enslaved by the illusions of the Spirits, the lies of the World. Unworthy, foolish successors.**_

"Very brave speech from one who strikes from the shadows." Kyoshi mused grimly, "I, Kyoshi, won't allow you to destroy what so many have achieved."

"Good or ill, the mortal world cannot be corrupted by you again." Yangchen mused painfully.

_**As if you children even knew what **_**real**_** corruption meant. **_The voice stopped, and lances of strange lightning surged out at Kyoshi, who raised her fans and began blocking them. Fluid and quick, she managed to execute what seemed to be a graceful dance, moving about, even as Yangchen and Roku reached Aang.

To his shame, the boy had been rooted in place, unable to lift a finger as his predecessors rallied to defend themselves. Realizing that, he gritted his teeth and took a step forward, determined to play a part in the defense, however small it might be. But before he had taken even one more step, he was stopped by Roku, who shook his hand.

"You're not ready to fight, certainly not in this world." the old man told him with finality. "Work in the Mortal World, Aang. Learn to master the other elements. Learn of the world. And restore balance before the world is plunged into a darkness deeper than a thousand wars."

"Take care, Aang." Yanchen said, as her tattoos and eyes began to glow. "Remember to find the truth about the Fallen One. It is the key!"

"Wait! Roku! Yangchen! You can't just…!" And even as he said that, he felt something pulling him back, and he found himself sitting in a bed of sorts, with a surprised Katara watching him. "You can't…"

"Aang!" The Waterbender cried, clearly both surprised and happy at seeing him awake. She grasped him by the shoulders gently. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

But the young monk wasn't really seeing her. All he was seeing was the strange lightning, all he was hearing was the twisted voice, which spoke with crazed passion. And, he remembered what his predecessors had told him. That was the most important.

"I know what I gotta do, now." He said, nodding. _And it's really, really scary._

* * *

Shoji had felt that the entire scouting operation had been a mistake from the very start. Throwing twenty one-hundred men units into woods larger than some provinces was tactically unsound, he was sure of that. Especially since the rebels likely knew the place like the back of their hand.

It was bad enough to see that they were going in rather blind. It was worse to know that the actual plan beyond 'reconnaissance of possible enemy hideouts' was nebulous. But nothing compared to having Hide as a captain for something like this.

Ever since they'd entered, Hide had neglected communications with other units, and had pushed forward to fast. Consequently, the group had gone too far, too fast, without adequate support in case something happened. Hide had refused to slow down, citing that he didn't want to have some else 'have the glory'.

When the unit was predictably attacked on the fourth day, the only thing which kept Shoji from shouting 'I told you so!' was the fact that he had no time to do so. A rock hurled at him, and he only half-dodged it. It scrapped the side of his helmet, knocking it off, and he blinked to clear his head from the blow as chaos erupted around him.

"Earthbenders! Enemy raid! Enemy raid!"

"Positions, damn you all!"

"Where are they?! Where?! Where?!"

And then there were screams and thuds as rocks struck home, answered by unfocused Firebending. Shoji shook his head clear of the pain, and took note of the situation. The enemy had taken them by surprise, but they weren't as many as all that, he was sure. The Earthbending and the gloom from the forest only made it appear that way.

_Making us fearful and inefficient. Good use of the woods. _He told himself. He made his way to Hide, who was looking around himself angrily.

"If they think they can scare us this way, they're fools!" the bigger man growled even as his hands blazed with fire, and he thrust both feet forward in a column of flame. No good there – the threes were singed but didn't catch fire.

"Come on then!" Hide growled, "We'll charge right into them and scatter them!" For a moment, Shoji was certain he'd heard that wrong. It didn't seem possible that even Hide could be this blind. But the man's eyes were alive with bloodlust, and a grin was on his face which the smaller man recognized only to well. _I heard it right. Spirits._

"You can't be serious, sir!" he found himself saying in a tone which he tried to maintain as diplomatic, even while the formation tried to defend itself from the Earthbenders. "We're at a disadvantage. We must retreat and regroup!"

"Retreat from a little raiding party?!" Hide scoffed, "No, they'll scatter when we charge!"

"No they won't, sir!" he countered, even as the ground rumbled beneath them. The ground opened right underneath the unit. They were thrown off balance. The soldiers and Firebenders were starting to look to them in confusion, looking for orders, for a plan, anything.

Shoji got up even as Hide did, just in time to see the bigger man take a head-sized rock to the side of the head. The lieutenant flinched as his captain went back down, knocked cold. For a moment, all he could do was stare at Hide in dismay. _Oh, oh, oh Spirits, no. Nononono. _

But the situation didn't allow for dismay or self-pity. He pushed those aside. He had to. He wanted to get out of here. He wanted to see his opinionated wife, see his child being born. Mostly, however, he wanted to extract the men from the foolish mistake had made, no, that Shoji had _let_ Hide make.

He took stock of the situation. _We're bunched up, no good. Six down, at least ten other wounded. We're still good, but we need to get out of here quick! _He didn't know if what he was going to say was any plan, but he needed to say something to the men, he needed to put them back in order. _Most of them are green recruits. Damn it, Hide! _

He shouted, hoping his voice was firm and calm. The men needed that. "The ten biggest men'll have charge of carrying those who cannot move! Those wounded, get inside the formation! Firebenders…" he gritted his teeth, things were going too fast, so he came up with the only thing which he thought might work quickly.

"Get into teams of two. Two lines! One in front, one in the back!" He saw the men moving to obey, quickly. Many seemed relieved that order was coming back. _We didn't plan for this. Hide didn't, at least. I should have made him listen. _In moments, dodging rocks, firing back, keeping their feet steady, the men managed to get into the formation he wanted. It wasn't perfect, it looked inelegant, but he didn't care. _Let's get out of here._

"Forward line, men on the right! Fire into the forest, and pace your fire! Men on the left, shoot at the ground, twenty paces off. On my mark. Steady… _fire!!_"

The first rank fired as told. Several fired into the woods, while others at the ground around them all. The impact of the fireballs upon the ground created gusts of dust and debris, while the fire into the forest lessened the impact of the Earthbenders, forcing the enemy to stay put.

Eventually, the dust was thick enough to hide their movements, and Shoji signalled for a silent retreat. Slowly but surely, they crept northward, where they'd be able to link up with other units and fully regroup.

They went like this for half a mile, Shoji letting his best scouts hang back, listening to what the forest was telling them. It didn't take long before they reported that the enemy is following them, still too close for comfort.

"Can't they just give up?" He mumbled. How he longed to be out of this tragic mess "This sucks majorly."

"Yes, sir." The man said neutrally. At that, Shoji sighed. They'd managed to take the six downed people with them, but Hide hadn't awakened. He was still stuck in command. _Just perfect. Just so very, very perfect._

"Reform the lines! Second line in front, first line becomes second and rests!" The men moved. He gritted his teeth as the ground rumbled. _This is gonna be a long walk back. But we'll make it. I'll make it. I have to. I want to see my child's face._

He raised his hand, facing into the woody gloom. "Ready!" he called. _Oh man, I hate this. I hate it. I hate it! _He thought with a mental whimper. But he didn't let it show. The men didn't need that. They needed a leader, not someone cracking under pressure.

_I'm going home. You got that, rebels?_

_I'm going _home!

Home!!

"_Fire!!_" he shouted, and the battle was joined anew.

* * *

In the Fire Nation, natural talent was just as prized as hard work was, perhaps even more so. To have natural talent in fighting was great. In Firebending, even greater.

Zuko hadn't been born with any natural talent, unlike his sister. As a child, he'd been nothing impressive, improving steadily, but at a very slow pace. He'd been clumsy, and a poor Firebender. Azula, for her part, quickly learned to fight effectively, and her abilities to Firebend awed many before she was eight. By the age of ten, she was proclaimed a Firebending Master.

No, Zuko never had any of that. He wasn't a prodigy, he knew that well. But after his father – the man he'd believed in, the man he'd always wanted to emulate – had burned him and exiled him, the fallen Prince had decided to become as good as he could in as many things as he could. His talent, if nothing else, would be his will.

He had trained with his Uncle in Firebending until he knew the basics of Firebending backward and forward. He had learned to wield dual swords from soldiers. He'd learned stealth from thieves caught in exchange for leniency. All these and other talents, Zuko had pooled, worked, forged, refined. And honed in the horrors of war.

The Prince Zuko who had been exiled had been weak, a laughingstock. The present Zuko, garbed in deep blue and black, wearing a mask mimicking a demon, was anything but those things. He was the Blue Spirit, and people in the Empire feared the very name.

He fleetingly thought of that as he descended upon a horrified Fire soldier, blades whirling, flames kissing them. Even as the man opened his mouth to shout a warning, Zuko's burning blade sliced the man's head from his shoulders, even as he landed, He never heard the thudding sound as he crouched and surged forward.

Behind him, dark shapes dropped down from the forest and followed him swiftly. His people. Like him, they were young Firebenders, Usha foremost amongst them. The war had taken much from them, and he had taken them all under his wing. They were barely twenty all in all, but he had taught them fighting, Firebending, weaponry and stealth.

Before he quite knew what had happened, Zuko aided by Usha, had found himself leading a band of people skilled enough to surprise even the most elite of Imperial soldiers. They were people who would kill at his command, Imperial or not never mattered. His Uncle hadn't liked it much. And Zuko, frankly, didn't like it much either.

His people struck quickly into the Imperial Unit, taking one soldier each, killing each efficiently enough, before the formation could recover and regroup. Some tried to counterattack with Firebending, but found themselves blocked by people who knew about these techniques quite well.

As the soldiers fell, Zuko couldn't help but feel remorse. These were, after all, his people. He wanted to save them from their fate of being tyrants, since he knew most of them were no monsters. But he knew better than to let his guard down, to let pity enter his thoughts. He raised his fist, and the group vanished into the forest, easily evading the pursuit.

"This went better than I thought it would." One of the other members garbed in black and wearing a featureless mask – as they all did except for Zuko himself – grunted. Zuko frowned behind his mask.

"Don't take too much pride in this sort of work." Usha warned, "We got them by surprise. If we'd stayed longer, it would have been trouble for us."

"Besides which," Zuko reminded them. "Our main objective is still far off. This was only a phase of the plan, nothing more. A bonus, if you like."

There was a shrug from several of the others, and one of them actually coughed at that. "Another of Sokka's plans. Easy for him to…"

"Drop it." Usha warned, even as Zuko removed his mask to give the man who'd spoken a stern glare.

"If it was up to him, Sokka would be leading from the front," Zuko reminded them. _Its so easy for them to forget they've been able to train that well only because Sokka helped out, _he told himself grimly. "We've insisted he stay out of the bigger battles. We can't afford to lose him, no matter how much that thought bothers him."

"So we're expendable compared to him?" The Firebender grunted, but his voice betrayed his doubts. He wasn't happy, but he was accepting reality.

"Nobody's _expendable_. Make certain Sokka's not within earshot next time you spout _nonsense_." He took a breath, composing himself, "I'll say it for the last time: Sokka is a better leader than he thinks, we need him and his ideas. He and I trust each other completely, and I never want to talk of this again. Am I clear?"

The last was stated in the form of a challenge, reminding them who led, reminded them who – despite all of their bravado – outmatched any of them in terms of martial arts, swordsmanship and Firebending. They nodded. The subject was close, the ambers of irritation quenched. Satisfied, Zuko donned his mask once again.

"So what's our objective?" Usha asked.

Zuko looked around. The place was as fine as any, and there were no enemy units nearby. He was too far in, anyway, for the mole in Sokka's group to do anything about it, even in the improbably event said mole was one of his people.

"We're going north. To Shinzan Town." He said, "Its common knowledge that General Fung's headquarters are located there. Along with between two and four hundred soldiers."

They looked at each other. Although none had taken his or her mask off, the Prince could tell that there was renewed excitement. This was the sort of thing Firebenders could sink their teeth into. This was a real mission.

"It's going to be dangerous. Very difficult." Usha mused with some amusement.

"Yes." He freely admitted that.

"And what do you think our chances are?" She added.

Zuko didn't answer. They didn't expect him to gauge chances. But, behind his mask, the man who gave life to the Blue Spirit gave the sort of smirk the Blind Bandit would have been proud of.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Ten Years of Difference**

**Chapter Twenty**

"Look, Aang!" Sokka tried to put it as gently as he could, despite the fact that all of this spiritual mumbo-jumbo was beginning to irritate the wits out of him, "I get what you're saying. Somewhat. A little bit. I think. But I don't see what that's got to do with me."

He saw that his tone hadn't carried the gentleness he had tried to imbue it with. The young monk looked a bit saddened, while Katara shot him an highly disapproving look. That last, however, had become commonplace. _At least she doesn't want to take my head off anymore. There's always that._

He couldn't help if he felt irritated, however. There was a situation going on outside. There were Imperial troops out there, and he was busy using what forces he had to push them back. He could be useful there, was useful there.

Instead he'd been dragged here by his insistant sister, and served a story which beat most of the fairy tales he'd been told ever since he was a boy. It wasn't that he really disbelieved it. But he didn't see what the point in Aang telling him was.

"Hey, look, try to see it from my side." he said before anyone else could speak, "You're telling me that one of your previous selves is trying to do something to this world. Something real bad."

"Right!" the boy said with blunt honesty. _Too honest. Is he an exception, or were his days really that much more peaceful? _"And we gotta find a way to stop him!"

Sokka reflected on that a moment, but his pragmatic, tactical mentality pushed him to speak quickly, even as he thought. "I get it. But you can't move on poor information like that."

"Poor?" Aang seemed confused. Katara stirred at that.

"Sokka, you heard what he said. His own past selves told him what was going on!" She said, defending him. Always defending him. It surprised him how attached to the boy his sister had become. _Yeah, like I haven't, _he thought to himself. The young Avatar had something about him which made others want to believe, want to help. He wished he had something like that.

He didn't buy what he'd been told, however. Nearly a decade fighting had taught him better. "The way you talked about it, your…geezer lives…" he chuckled at this without thinking, caught himself, and coughed. _Remnants from my youth. Thought I'd rid myself of that. _"Your predecessors said it was one of your past selves. Now, I can believe that there was an Avatar that turned bad somewhere along the way…"

"You do?" Aang said. "I'm having problems with that right now."

"It makes sense. You're all people that the Avatar Spirit's bonded with for life. But you're still people. Its not impossible that something like this happened. But that's not the problem here." They looked blank, and he sighed. "Okay, so I guess I gotta be a bit clearer."

"You're saying the guy got killed," _And thats a feat right there, I think, _"Then got tossed out of everything about the Avatar cycle – whatever that means." He looked at them, waiting for them to nod. When they did, he continued.

"Now, I don't really know anything about all that spiritual talk, but I can get that something like this is, well, something real huge. Hugest huge." _I'm needed somewhere else!_

Aang looked a bit confused – or maybe hesitant to make any link. But Katara seemed to grasp it, for her eyes widened. "You're saying there's more than just Aang's former self acting up."

He stood up. She got it, it seemed. They could figure the rest out. Frankly, they could better than he could. "Thats how I see it. Look. I'll see what I can do about getting you help getting to that Fire Temple. Firebender would be good. Earthbender, too. Gotta learn those, right?"

As he made his way to exit the earthbended room, Aang caught up with him, smiling happily, and bowed in the way he'd seen him bow to respected elders. 'Thank you, sir. Thank you for the help.'

Over the years, many people had thanked him, including kids. But, for some reason, he didn't want this one to do that. In some, strange way, Sokka was the one feeling thankful. Because ever since he'd seen Aang, seen the young boy's ability to cope and move forward, it had galvanized something inside of him.

He put his hand on the boy's head a moment, gently, and felt this strange feeling of loss. _Like I'm supposed to be with this kid in some way. Like me, standing here, is right. Nonsense. _But it made him grin. "Hey, don't call me 'sir', kiddo. Sokka's enough when I'm with friends."

This made the boy happy, he could see that. "Friends. Yeah. That sounds _great_!"

"You bet. Well, plan the spiritual thing together. I got a really material thing to take care of." He mused, waving as he left. _I've wasted tactical time. But I don't feel bad about it. Weird._

He felt her presence as he left, belatedly, and cursed himself for letting the conversation take him so completely off-guard. Ty Lee was leaning on the wall, the bright, happy grin on her face present as it almost always was. She was garbed in less flamboyant clothes, and yet she still retained her lean, alluring figure. 'That was really nice in there.' She said.

Flustered – by her opinion, his being caught off-guard, or her presence, he couldn't tell which – he started walking back to the place he made decisions from, where scouts likely waited for him with urgent reports. "Shouldn't you be locked up in a situation like this?" he groused.

It didn't deter her as she somersaulted and landed right next to him. It actually seemed to amuse her, as she made sweet, slightly mocking eyes at him. She leaned a bit closer. "Well, y'know, if you wanna chain me up yourself, then…"

He turned away from her, not certain he liked the effect she was having on him, not disliking it, either. The conflicting feelings made him revert to the only thing which served him in those moments : sarcasm.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure I'd love to get both my arms broken if I tried." He mused with a face he hoped was blank. She shrugged.

"I wouldn't do that!" she said.

"You'd… okay, conversation over. Too much weirdness." _I got a fight to finish. I got leaders to call, and I got changes to make like yesterday. Dunno if Bumi'll like it, but it's gotta be done._

_Yeah, and I need someone to watch that kid. Someone less mothering than Katara. It all adds up. All the time._

"Whatever you say." He heard her muse behind him, keeping only two steps behind. "Yup, yup. Whatever you say."

And he wondered what to do with the seriousness with which she repeated that last sentence.

* * *

It had never been designed to truly feel comfortable, it seemed.

Azula realized this much as she squirmed on her seat, the one which had seated fifty-two Earth Kings over two millennia of the Earth Kingdom's existence. She now ruled over most of the Earth Kingdom as the Regent of the East – the new fancy title her father had chosen for her position. The position gave her power over many resources, many people, and much territory.

It usually bored her to tears. Sometimes, it amused her. And sometimes, it infuriated her. Like the man she was watching sternly at the moment, quivering between two silent Dai Li agents.

"Your network has yet to uncover the men responsible for the constant leaks of information, Colonel Fogao." She all but purred, the gentleness in her voice laced with implacable acid. "This is getting… most annoying."

The man bowed down at that, his face all but hitting the floor in his haste to prostrate himself. She eyed the man in distaste. People who cowered or bowed so easily were nothing to her. They were disgusting at the best of time, in her opinion.

"I swear, Your Highness!" the man gasped, "I swear that we are doing everything in our power to find the sources of the leaks! I swear that we will find them one day, that much I can promise!"

"'One day' doesn't mean 'today'." She growled, making her displeasure known. She shook her head as the man continued to gibber and cower. There was nothing to be done about this man. She looked at Mai, standing beside her, looking utterly bored by the entire proceedings, and smiled. _Boring as a platypus bear, yet effective and a good counsel._

"I'm starting to think I should have let Long Feng live." She hissed to her friend swiftly. Mai simply looked down at her and leaned forward a bit.

"No use crying over that." The dark-toned and dark-garbed woman mused dispassionately, "Might have been worse giving that old man any sort of power. He was too stubborn for his own good."

Azula had to admit that her friend – for that was the term she preferred to use – was right on that point. The former Secretariat of Ba Sing Se had been a fool, but not without resources of his own, having long been able to rule under the Earth King's very nose. That took a certain amount of flair, she had to admit.

However, the men and women who'd tried to control the Dai Li after Long Feng had been disposed had met with nothing but dismal failure, as the special agents decided only Azula was worthy of giving orders. As for the intelligence network…

The very thought of it angered her, and she rose from her seat as the man continued to try and cover up his own lack of results. At once, her prey tensed, even as Mai seemed to look on with a glimmer of genuine interest. A rare sight, that: ever since Ty Lee had betrayed them, Mai's mood had been unusually dark, even for her. _Yeah, like it didn't affect me?_ Ty Lee… she was going to make a special example out of her one day.

"You're wasting your breath, which doesn't really bother anyone." She growled, "But you're also wasting my time right now, and that is very different indeed!" She swept her arm, to dismiss the man. "Leave at once. And if you come with failure again the next time I call upon you…" she left it at that. Let the man's imagination interpret it the way it wished.

Azula had been in a very foul mood herself lately. Although she'd been able to keep her temper in check, she'd found herself giving way to anger more often than ever before. That the Resistance hadn't fallen for her bluff didn't particularly bother her – there would be opportunities enough for the Regent of the East to show her ability to control the situation later.

Nor did general Fung's recent mishaps even bother her. She didn't count on the man succeeding to begin with. All she wanted was force a reaction out of the forces located in that forest.

Ty Lee… that… that enraged her. _I've given her everything. And her answer to that? Betraying me to a lost cause! To think that… that… _anger took hold of her for moment, anger and a mounting hate mingled with hurt. She pushed it away. Feeling of inadequacy, of misspent time, of failed friendships, she stamped under the heel of her will.

The days when she questioned herself over her own worth as a person were long gone. There had been a time, Azula remembered, when what her parents thought of her mattered. She had once yearned for her mother's love and, when that had failed, had tried everything she could to prove herself worthy in her father's eyes.

It had failed with Lady Ursa. The Fire Lady had always favored Zuko, and Azula was certain that she'd never felt any love towards her, just like her uncle Iroh certainly never felt. No, to them, the weaker, whiny Zuko, the boy who looked nothing like the pillar of strength a Fire Lord had to be, was their favored.

She got over that mostly intact.

But her father had been everything she'd wanted to be. So she had taken his lessons to heart, had accepted his harsh upbringing, didn't let Iroh interfere – stupid old man, who was that _loser_ for trying to interfere?! – and delved into a physical and mental regimen designed to make her as perfect as she could be.

It was when she'd been sent to the Earth Kingdom, had fought their armies, had formulated strategies, that she'd understood. As her victories piled up, she realized that her vaunted father, far from a brilliant man, was nothing but a Firebender. An extremely powerful, amazing Firebender, but nothing else. Not a soldier, not a general, and barely better than the Earth King as a Ruler.

No, Azula had stopped trying to prove herself to anyone. She didn't need to. But that didn't mean that the thing about Ty Lee didn't enrage her. That she'd run to one of the few men who'd been able to counter her in tactics and strategy only made it all the more unacceptable.

Sokka thought she was bluffing when she threatened Ba Sing Se, so her contact told her. And he was right. A purge in Ba Sing Se would be politically incorrect. Ba Sing Se was her throne, the seat of her own power, her own future empire.

She would soon remind him that she wasn't the type to make empty threats. And there was a way to do that. A way to show Sokka her ruthlessness, and Ty Lee her rage.

"Mai," she called to her friend. "Remind me why Ty Lee wanted to become an acrobat and martial artist again?"

* * *

There were many times when Sokka's patience had been worn thin over the years, most of them after he had reluctantly assumed leadership of Hakoda's group. He had been forced to make deals which made his blood boil, had to have verbal or litteral fights to get adequate supplies, and sometimes had to endure being clearly insulted.

Yes, his nerves had been frayed many times. But never to the extent he was feeling now as he looked at the just-arrived Toph. The Blind Bandit actually shifted, and he supposed that she could read his emotions on the matter. _And I just left a fun, well, maybe weird, moment for this._

"Okay. Wait." He said, trying very hard not to grit his teeth, and not quite succeeding in that sense. "Repeat that. Slowly, please."

Toph shrugged, frowning a little. "What I said. June wants to run her own show. She's sent six of her people to help us."

"That part's bad enough." Sokka muttered. "Six! What am I supposed to do with only six people! What's June thinking?!"

"Hey, who knows? She always walked and fought at her own pace." Toph answered.

_That's what we all end up doing, ain't it? _He thought sourly. _We raid separately, we work separately, and we get together only for the shortest time, for big attacks. Resistance… what a joke. Its just a convenient title. _

"That's a problem right there, and that brings me to the second part." He said, and felt his fury rising behind his voice. Toph shifted a little more. Although the powerful Earthbender would never fear him for any reason, she did seem uncomfortable with the current discussion. Sokka leaned against the wall of his rough, Earthbender-tunnelled war room. "There's the part about being independent."

Toph nodded. "Yeah, yeah, that's bothered me, too. They say we do things differently, so they'll help us… but on their own terms. Sokka…"

Whatever his friend might have said was lost, as the young man was already out of the place, out in the open, and into the now lightly-inhabited base. Most of his forces were sent to counter the last Imperial foray. Aside from the former imperial, Ty Lee – who was likely now training nearby with two guards as probably needless chaperons - only six Earthbenders, twenty soldiers and a few Waterbending healers remained.

That sight, reminding him of the dire straits, only fed Sokka's fury even more than before. Yes, he had heard that the enemy forces had moved in poorly. Yes, they were holding their own and yes, he had confidence that Zuko would cut the head of this particular lionsnake before the body did too much damage. It didn't matter. It was too much. He was through with whimsical leaders and poor support.

He briefly saw the young Avatar farther away, probably going somewhere to help out, or prepare for his weird trip. He wished he could help the boy, talk with him about some things further, but he had to deal with _this_ first. It was a_ long_ time coming.

He saw them at once. Dressed in leather and dark garb, with a sword at the or the back or both for each of them. They were clustered together, lazing about. Sokka found he had taken a blade with him in his absent-minded, survival-based, instinctive need for defense, and nimbly strapped it to his side as he charged forward.

The one who came towards him as the other five languidly looked at the surrounding, near-empty camp was certainly the leader. Although a burn scar mangled a part of her left cheek, he saw that the leader in question was a rather beautiful woman, hard, arrogant eyes notwithstanding. A woman he'd have looked at with some attention, had he cared at all at the moment. Which he truly didn't.

"You're Sokka, I guess." The woman said, her voice fairly gentle, as catapulted near "I'm Jin. We've been sent to…"

"I don't care what your spirits-blasted name is." Sokka snapped with restrained fury, and his poise must have surprised her, since she took a step back at the sound. "And I know what you've been sent to do. I'll make it clear right here and now: I'm in command. I decide where you go. I decide what you do. No questions. Got it?"

Once again the woman seemed surprised, although a scowl grew on her face. One of the other Blades, a rather big man, glared and came forward a bit, hand on a rather large sword. In answer, Sokka gripped his own weapon and gave the Blade his best glare. It made the other man hesitate, and then the big man's stare rested on a point some way behind Sokka.

"Not all that sure what the game here is, people," Toph's voice stated. _So she followed after me. I was so angry I just didn't feel it. _"but anyone drawing a sword who's _not_ Sokka'll be eating rocks before they can say 'ouch'." That sneering sentence was enough to calm the Blades, though they all looked ready to chew something. All of them except the woman named Jin, who glared at Sokka. _She_ was prepared to chew _him_ up.

"We're of the Blades Group." She said stiffly. "You're the Mist Group leader. We don't work for you. June's decided that we'd help you, but we'll do it our way. Otherwise we'll just leave. Now if you'd please..."

"Not a chance, girl." Sokka snapped. June had never learned to keep her arrogance in check, but he respected her enough to let it be. Until now. _And one thing's certain, I'm not gonna let some underling take control of this conversation! _"You're going to do what I want, when I want. You're with me, you obey me. Don't like it, too darn bad!"

Jin stiffened even more at that. Perhaps she was entertaining foolish thoughts, the way her eyes blazed. But having stared down Azula's glare itself in the past, Sokka found he was anything but impressed. In fact, the girl's sullenness made him even more furious.

"Now look here…" she began in a tone which crossed the line as far as he was concerned. He thrust his face within an inch of hers. She flinched, and he knew he'd won the battle for control. Yet, he wasn't going to leave things like that.

"No, _you_ look. And try to get this in one go, 'cause I'll never bother repeating it! You're _Resistance_. June pledged herself to Bumi, and I did the same thing. I'm a _higher_ Resistance leader than _you_, and _you_'re going to _blasted listen_ to _my_ orders." He growled right back.

"June…"

"June's not here! Stop _bothering_ me with her! She doesn't command this area and spirits know she doesn't command this operation!" he shouted right at her, his patience worn out. He thought he saw the young Airbender and his sister from the corner of his eye, but he didn't take his eyes off Jin's.

He was being harsh with the girl. He knew it. But he was through dancing around. That was partly Aang's fault. The boy had had an effect, something he'd just realized a while ago.

And then there was Katara. His strong-willed, short-tempered, all-too-dear little sister. Guilt over some things, and many regrets, were at the forefront when he thought about her.

But, presently, anger was blooming. Because he'd left her, left his village, to make a difference. And he could do _better_ than this, and he knew it. His dad and Iroh knew it. But he'd kept playing a role he'd felt safe with while the world suffered.

A coward hiding under raids and proud words. No way. That wasn't him.

"I'm in command, _Jin_." And if June has any problem with that, then she's gonna be pretty unhappy, because I'm through with this stuff." _And a lot of things. I'm gonna change that. I've got to. _"Now, I'll make this clear. I'm gonna give you a command. You either obey it, or I'll see you as a danger to my forces and lock you in a cell right now!"

His voice cracked like a whip in the air. "Got it?! Now, _shut up and __**listen!**_" He then pivoted and walked towards Toph, fed up with it. It was as he did that that he was reminded of another annoyance, and his fears of what might happen. And suddenly, it clicked. He clapped his hand on the Blind Bandit's shoulder. Here, with that stubborn girl, he could do one good deed.

"Toph, I think I'm going to be needing you for something special…"

* * *

Aang had been bonded to the Sky Bison since childhood. Although no magic had ever been involved in said bond, there was no mistaking its potency. It was for that reason that Aang tended to eat beside the beast as often as he ate with Katara or anyone else. And Appa had been his place to sleep, the only piece of home he had left.

Yes, there was a bond, and it allowed the young Avatar to feel that his huge friend disapproved what was happening.

After his talk with Sokka, Aang had felt that there was a very urgent need for him to go and see those documents Roku had talked about. It had become even more urgent after Sokka had given his opinion. The water tribesman had been sarcastic, but his arguments had made sense. Most importantly, he had pointed out that neither Aang nor even previous Avatars really knew what they were up against. Even the others appeared to be guessing.

He had to go. He had to know. He had to do something with his own two hands. So he had resolved to go, but refused to involve anyone else. So he had taken pains to smuggle food for both himself and Appa, as well as some items he deemed useful for camping. The bison had clearly been against the entire thing.

"I know, buddy, I know", he mused, feeling the very real need to explain himself to his friend – a throwback to earlier days, when the bison had been a silent confidante in a sea of ever-mounting pressure for the new Avatar to suceed. "I know its crazy, okay ? But what choice do I have?"

Appa grunted. The grunt of morose disapproval. As he placed one last bundle, and surveyed what he had there, Aang glanced back, slightly irritated himself.

"It's not like I'm running away, Appa! I'll come back when I know what I'm supposed to fight here!" he defended himself.

Another grunt. Deeper. Different. The young monk read it at once, and pointed at his childhood friend. "Oh, yeah, pouting's going to help us a lot!" He surveyed his things a moment, and sighed. "It's better this way. I've involved Katara too much. And the others are busy in all this fighting."

Now the Bison sniffed and grunted at the same time. _Excuses, excuses, _it said to the boy. Aang felt a bit angry at that, but couldn't actually retort. As a matter of fact, he was making excuses. It felt right. But at the same time, it somewhat frightened him to go like this, towards a land which had become something…horrible.

Aang closed his eyes for a moment. The inner contemplation of what he was doing, however, was jarred loose by a rough, female voice ringing in his ears.

"Hey, going somewhere?"

Aang was startled, and looked to the side to find who had spoken. For a panicked moment, he thought Katara had come back from going to talk with the few warriors from her village still in camp – any except for Sokka. It would've been disaster. Instead of her, however, he saw a lean, athletic woman in Earth Kingdom colours, who was grinning yet wasn't looking towards him. Such an act would have been useless, at any rate.

"T-Toph?" He asked hesitantly. The smirk – which had been absent at first, but had turned up to become a common theme for the woman ever since her return to camp – became sharper.

"Yeah, Toph. Good to see you can figure that out yourself, Twinkle-Toes." She answered.

He cringed. He didn't really like that nickname. "I'd like Aang a bit better." He mused diplomatically.

"Whatever you say, Twinkle-Toes. I don't care. Like this trip you're planning. I don't care. Seems pretty stupid to me, though." She replied smoothly. "Wanna know why?"

"No, thank you." He said defensively. He had a pretty good idea himself. Once again, his comment seemed to waft around Toph, utterly ignored by the woman.

"You can Airbend good, but I'm betting there were some Airbenders who could do better. But let's leave that aside. Even with that thing you did at the Temple, you're still going to go to a world of hurt. Because, for an Avatar, what do you got besides Airbending ? Just a bit of Waterbending, thats all !"

"I know it's crazy. But I gotta go." He mumbled, "I gotta know. I… I got to do this, or I'll just stay dependant on… well, on everything !" Toph fell silent a moment, but her smirk didn't budge. That smirk was starting to make him nervous. He wondered if that was the impression she wanted to give.

She spoke with the same cynicism as before. "Ooh, trying to impress me with a brave little speech?" He shook his head.

"No. Just what I feel. That's it."

"Really gonna do it, huh? You're gonna get killed."

"I guess I'll have to risk it, right ? I gotta know. I gotta do this." He shrugged, "Thats all there is to it."

She nodded, looking at Appa's feet – although, he reminded himself, she never really looked anywhere in the normal sense. 'Good.' She mused, her smirk lessening, and she thumped the ground with her right foot. A bundle suddenly flew in, barely missing Aang, who all but ducked. He barely had time to register the incident before there was another thumping of feet, and rock jutted from the ground, catapulting Toph right next to Aang.

"I'm coming along." She mused, then waved her hand. "And before you start gibbering about all this being your idea, I gotta tell you that Sokka had caught on that you might do something stupid, so here you go." And as she said that, she gave Aang a folded piece of paper.

He eyed it a moment. To his embarassment, the first thing which came out of his mouth sounded too stupid for his taste. "For me?"

"Nope. Sokka decided it'd be a good idea for a blind girl to have a written note." She grunted, "Of course its for you, Twinkle Toes! Take it already!"

The note, when opened, was pretty simple.

_Aang,_

_You're an idiot. Take Toph along with you. She's a bit psycho at times, but she's great at what she does. And she needs closure of some kind. _

_I'll handle things here. Get going on that stupid trip of yours._

_-Sokka-_

Aang blinked, then looked at Toph. She shrugged.

"Let's go. Always wanted to get the feel of old Fire Tribe grounds under my feet!"

Appa grunted again. And, this time, it didn't sound quite as disapproving as before.

* * *

Zhao, as far as he was concerned, knew that he was meant for greater things. He had always been smarter than other children, always more skilled. His competence had never been questioned, and he had embraced the teachings of the Fire Nation wholeheartedly.

Born into an influential family, he had been raised to be the best and act like him. His father had been a naval officer and had expected his son to do the same. Quickly seeing how powerful and important the fleet was, he'd easily accepted that fate, and had become the finest student at the Academy. He would have accepted no less.

It was there that he'd read about the man he could have as a role model. Lord Kazaki, formerly Admiral of the Fleet, the highest possible rank attainable. The man had won all of his battles, some of them so decisively that he became feared throughout the seas for his ruthless efficiency. Even the Earth Kingdom's best – a paltry man named Toroden – had fallen to his fleet.

He had resolved to surpass this man, to become a thing of legend – a living legend, as Kazaki yet lived during Zhao's younger days, the man's passing mourned throughout the nation and, specifically, towards the Fleet.

He wanted that power, that respect, that adulation. He would have it. Of that he was certain.

And he had risen through the ranks, his ambitions to become someone legendary fueling him. He had mastered Firebending, despite losing patience with his original teacher, the traitorous Zeong Zeong. He had been an ensign, a lieutenant, a senior lieutenant, all the way to the rank of commander, where he'd found himself stalled frustratingly. But he knew his chance would come.

And come it had, a decade ago. A promotion to admiral, and the command of over one hundred warships. His mission : to take and raze the Northern Water Tribe capital, long a thorn in the side of the Fire Nation's effort.

He had taken the assignment almost merrily, even enlisting the aid of the disgraced Dragon of the West, General Iroh. Of course, he had removed the exiled Prince, Zuko, from the equation, having long disdained the boy for his strange obsession with honour.

More than anything, he had found something in his youth, a secret which would spell doom to the Waterbenders, and elevate him to heights even the legendary Kazaki could never have hoped to reach. He knew that the Spirit of the Moon, the physical master of Waterbending, had taken physical form within the Northern Water Tribe capital. All he had to do was get there, destroy the spirit, and their victory would be ensured.

It was a perfect plan. It should have worked. _Would have, if not for that blasted Prince Zuko_, he corrected himself in a rage.

Two attacks there had been. The first one had been repulsed, although it had damaged enemy positions. The second had penetrated the city's walls, and the slaughter had begun. The Waterbenders had rallied, and the Fire Nation's losses were mounting, but Zhao managed to reach the fabled oasis were Wan Shi Tong's texts told there lived his prey.

But there had been no spirits there. Only the insufferable Prince had been, standing there as if he had been Fire Lord Ho Jin the Wise himself! The prince had taken the spirits and secreted them away, and refused to tell Zhao were they were.

'I won't be a part of something like this. This is wrong. This… this has no honour in it.' The prince had said and Zhao, in a rage, attempted to incinerate the boy on the spot. The young man had resisted well, but was falling to his might, when Zhao suffered another betrayal.

General Iroh decided to go the way of treason as well, the mild old man suddenly becoming the warlord tales had once described him to be. It had been all Zhao had been able to do to get away from the Dragon of the West's fury.

By that time, the battle had turned against the Fire Nation. The strike had been too deep, and nightfall gave Waterbenders added power. The city lay shattered, but Zhao no longer had enough strength to control it. Reluctantly, he had ordered a retreat, certain his next strike would be the final one.

Except there had never been a next strike. Word of the debacle had reached the Fire Lord's ears, and Ozai's punishment had been swift : Zhao was reduced to Commander once more, and was barred from entering the admiralty ever again. Another had led the third assault, to find that the city had been deserted. The Northern Water Tribe had escaped.

Disgraceful. Shameful. Zhao's dreams had been shattered. All that kept him going now, was finding a way to avenge his wounded honour, and to kill the former, disinherited Prince Zuko, the surviving member of the pair who had destroyed him.

It was in the middle of such foul musings – his life these days – that Zhao had seen it. This time, it hadn't been a report, but his own eyes. He had kept his patrol ships close to the coast in the hopes of seeing this. Once he saw the shape, flying away from the coast, he was certain of it. He had read enough lore to know what he was seeing.

A Sky Bison. A species thought extinct, even as the Airbenders were said to be destroyed. Yet it seemed that the creature had a rider!

"Lookout!" he called swiftly. "Do you see this beast flying in the sky?"

"Sir, I don't – wait, I do! Spirits, there _is_ something flying out there. Something big!" The lookout answered, sounding astounded. Zhao was elated. An Airbender at least, more at best. Either way, an opportunity.

His opportunity! This might yet be the way for Zhao to restore his rightful path towards true glory. He wasn't about to lose it.

"Helm! Follow the lookout's instructions! Tell engineering I want full speed maintained!" he growled.

'Yes, sir! How long?'

He grinned, and it must have been something frightening, as the young officer took a step backwards.

"Until we shoot it down from the sky!" he answered. He wasn't letting this opportunity go. Not if it cost him and his crew their lives.


End file.
